An emerging phenomenon to rival e-business and e-commerce mania was brought to the attention of the Margin via e-mail this week. The Margin suspects this trend could really pose a threat to the Internet revolution.

The article was entitled "New Business-to-Consumer Retail Craze" and read as follows: "They're calling it shops or `S-Commerce' and its being rolled out in cities and towns nationwide.

"It's a real revelation," according to Malcolm Fosbury, a engineer from Hillingdon.

"You just walk into one of these shops and they have all sorts of things for sale."

Mr Fosbury was particularly impressed by a clothes shop he discovered while browsing in central London.

"Shops seem to be the ideal medium for transactions of this type. I can actually try out a jacket and see if it fits me. Then I can visualise the way I would look if I was wearing the clothing."

This is possible using a high definition 2D viewing system, or "mirror" as it has become known. Shops, which are frequently aggregated into shopping portals or "high streets", are becoming increasingly popular with the cash-rich time-poor generation of new consumers."

The Margin wonders how long it will be before the big five consultancy firms launch their s-commerce strategies.