Most of us rely on the internet to a great extent; this blog only exists because you are a connected person. And the chances are that you buy books from Amazon, pick your news up at bbc.co.uk and send emails as a principal method of communication. 20 years ago none of this existed in our homes!

you may be able to order it on-line but would the Post Office deliver it?

Now we have access to the internet on our telephones. And that is about to grow, It is reckoned that by 2016 about 80% of all internet users will access the web using a mobile phone. Google have concluded a study which also suggests that by 2016 over 3bn people (around half of the population of the planet) will have access to the internet. It is also suggested that around the same time there will be one trillion devices connected to the internet at any one time.

And with that connectivity will come a shift in the way we buy things. In four years the Google study is suggesting that commercial activity on the internet will grow from the present £1.5tn to £2.7tn.

These are amazing figures, except that this still represents a tiny proportion of what we spend. It is around 4% of the total economy – so some way to go. And perhaps some cheer for our High Streets – which still have some place in our super-fast-always-on world. We still like to go and touch and feel stuff…

As I was reminded last week, there are some things that don’t work on-line. My morning dose of Costa Coffee for instance – I might be able to order it, but the delivery might be a little more challenging?