Dot.ie registrations up, but firms failing on e-commerce

QUARTERLY registrations for dot.ie (.ie) online addresses topped the 10,000 mark for the first time during the first three months of this year.

On the back of the increase, however, the IE Domain Registry (IEDR) — the body charged with managing registration for Irish Internet addresses — has warned that domestic businesses aren’t fully exploiting the commercial benefits of e-commerce.

The first quarter figures (which were up by 5.5% on a year-on-year basis and by 18.5% on a quarter-by-quarter basis) showed a strong demand from sole traders and limited companies, but IEDR’s research also shows that only two-thirds of Irish businesses actually have a web presence and that just 21% of those who do have e-commerce functionality.