Boots kicks out Web in favour of set tops

"The Internet consists of young males who don't do the weeklyshopping".

Boots has rejected the idea of using the Internet for electronic commerce and is opting instead for a set top television box trial.

The company began a six month trial last week in Kingston-upon-Hull joining TSB, the Daily Mail and various entertainment on demand services in Videonet, a virtual high street interactive television service provided by Video Networks and Kingston Communications.

"We wanted to introduce a home shopping trial which had as few barriers to access as possible. While 98 per cent of the country have televisions, the take-up of computers and the Internet is much smaller," said a spokesman for Boots.

"We have the capability to do home shopping through the Internet on our Web site, but at the moment our focus is on the set top trial," he said.

Users of the trial have a set top box tuned to a free channel and connected to a modem. The modem transfers information to Video Networks' service centre over the users' telephone line.

Boots argued that the typical Internet user was not its average customer.

"The Internet is mostly young males who don't do the weekly shopping. Boots is also a more female orientated store," the spokesman said.

"We felt the home computer and Internet are not familiar to a large proportion of population and do not reflect our store audience," he said.

According to Video Networks' marketing director Mark Springett: "Although Internet services are growing, you are still just talking computer literate people. With this trial we are talking mass market."

Safeway also shied away from the Internet last week, with the announcement of a home shopping service, only available over phone or fax.