Richard Felton managing director of Felton Wills & Segar one of the country's oldest florists says internet

Richard Felton, managing director of Felton, Wills & Segar, one of the country's oldest florists, says internet shopping will never replace the real thing because of the problem of knowing what you are getting."It is true that you can get an accurate idea from Interflora of what you are going to get, but that is because of very stringent controls," he says."I think there is still no substitute for getting out there yourself. That is why you see old people in the high street on Saturdays. They want to see the babies and meet their friends."Bespoke products. Try buying a bottle of Chateau Latour from Justerini & Brooks on the internet. What you can do is phone them up and they will send it round to you in a smart blue van.These drawbacks are not enough to deter people from shopping on the internet. Perhaps the happiest Christmas of all will be enjoyed by Sir Peter Bonfield, chief executive of BT. While you struggle to fill in forms, send your credit card details to insecure sites and sit twiddling your thumbs while the screen freezes, he will charge you pounds 0.04 a minute for the privilege of buying nothing..

Taking out a mortgage is the biggest financial decision of most people's lives. It is one thing to buy a book or a CD on the internet, but would you risk 25 years of loan repayments on half-an-hour's surfing? Some new and traditional lenders are betting you will. Promise - a phone and net remortgage provider - has launched a range of products for the online buyer. Other lenders are backing the traditional approach, saying online services are no more than marketing tools. "The internet just represents another distribution channel that increases the choice available to our customers," says Esther O'Reilly, of Cheltenham and Gloucester. Sharing this view are NatWest, Halifax, HSBC and Nationwide: they do not differentiate between what is available via the net, phone or local branches. Whichever way is right, the effect has been to stimulate competition - and cut prices Even brokers are getting involved. John Charcol, has launched charcolonline - an integrated net service combining mortgage search, product selection and application, all online."People no longer have to shop around the high street in search of the best deals, nor do they have to pay fees for advice," says Toby Strauss, managing director of charcolonline.

You can now search for the best deals without the stress of having to visit individual banks and building societies.Charcolonline will search more than 300 products from 25 of the country's top lenders, including Standard Life, Egg, Halifax, Nationwide, Woolwich and Abbey National.Two other brokers, Avoncourt and Emfinance, offer similar online search services. Opting for this method, rather than enlisting the help of an insurance adviser, can save you fees. If e-mortgages take off as lenders - including Barclays - predict that they will, inevitably there will be more price reductions.Lenders that are solely on the net and phone-based, such as Egg, Marbles and Promise, have lower overheads - and these are affecting prices generally. This is all good news for the British consumer, whether you choose to shop online or stick to the high street. The Which? report released this week, which reveals the extent of rip-off Britain, means that such price cuts will be greatly welcomed.Competition is forcing mortgage lenders to introduce a new range of products.