RetailTrends: In these days of heady consumerism and technological savvy, we're one click away from what we want to purchase.

The internet has opened up the fast lane to shopping online. The success of commercial websites such as eBay, Amazon, Ryanair and Aer Lingus, to name just a few, has proved there's a huge appetite for using the net as a tool of convenience, thereby avoiding the queues and aggravation of having to go outside the front door, face the twin nightmares of traffic and parking, be trampled by multitudinous crowds, and having to deal with rude sales assistants.

At a time when shops such as Golden Discs are beginning to suffer from their online rivals, does this mean the high street shopper is going to become a thing of the past? And will this have long-term implications for rents?

Tom Coffey, chief executive of the Dublin City Business Association, doesn't think the internet will have any long-term effect on trading on the high street. "At Christmas there's always hype around the fact that online Christmas purchases take away from bricks and mortar shops - I doubt that. The internet often raises questions about on-time delivery and you are depending on 'snail mail'. I think there's a question mark over the hype," he says.

"That said, the net is growing all the time, computer use is growing and e-mail is becoming ubiquitous. However, people will still go out and shop for fun."

Coffey also underlines the organic nature of the high street which is constantly changing its attractions for shoppers with 80 per cent of businesses changing hands every 10 years.

"That automatically changes the mix and choice in the city centre and that means it is constantly renewing itself and creating new offers for the customer."

Nonetheless, Fergal O'Byrne, chief executive officer of the Irish Internet Association, says that high street shops need to utilise the internet as another route to market by cross-pollinating their branding message. "They all need to embrace the internet as a true channel-to-market medium like, for example, all the big US stores," he says.

"The internet should be used to drive people through their doors and online. A certain percentage of people will advocate and use online purchasing but others love the nature of the tactile element of shopping."

Adrian Leahy, senior negotiator for Savills HOK, doesn't believe there will be any worries for high street shops nor will rents suffer as the net cuts into the bottom line of bricks and mortar outlets.

Leahy says there was no evidence that rents were being eroded due to online shopping and that was proven with retail giants, such as Ikea, coming into the market. "I think people use the internet for research - and then go out and buy the product they've been looking at - and for comparing prices on the internet. We certainly haven't seen the net impinge on high street rents."

So, while internet usage and online shopping is growing it seems as though developers, high street retailers and landlords need not look over their shoulders quite yet.