Nearly 50 per cent of goods sold on the Internet for Christmas last year arrived late, were faulty, damaged or were the wrong product. The statistics were cited by the chief executive of Vision Consulting, Mr Billy Glennon, yesterday at the official opening by the Taoiseach of the company's new offices in Dublin.

Mr Glennon warned that a business got only one opportunity to gain and retain a customer. "It will be companies with the capacity to build trust with their customers that will succeed, so that when communication breaks down, the relationship is strong enough to survive while a solution is found."

Mr Glennon said that in the new business environment impeccability and trust are the key to winning over customers who, with the Internet, are becoming increasingly remote from companies.