Ecommerce owners and their web hosting providers are among a very select group of people who aren’t griping about the ever-rising gas prices. To the extent that every cloud has a silver lining this is it: Millions of consumers will use computer keys instead of car keys to do their shopping in the coming months. To further sweeten the deal, tax rebate checks amounting to $106 billion will be mailed to consumers’ homes between now and July. The bottom line is that millions of people will have money to spend and they don’t want do drive! How sweet is that?

According to an ABC News poll, “Americans are not just dissatisfied with the cost of gasoline, a sizable number are downright angry about it. And they might get madder still: Many are cutting back elsewhere in order to keep paying at the pump, and if prices hit $3 per gallon long-term, more than six in 10 say they’ll have to reduce their driving.”

Even before gas prices skyrocketed online shopping was growing at an unprecedented rate. According to a recent eMarketer report, two thirds of the people who use the internet will make purchases online in 2008, with the average buyer spending $1,123. Talk to your web hosting provider and make sure you are prepared for the increased online traffic.

Todd Hale, senior vice president of Consumer Shopping Insights for Nielson Consumer Services, advises online retailers and their web hosts to make sure their sites are running at full potential. “We need to be alert to the fact that consumers are looking to save by altering where they shop, how they shop and what products or brands they buy. Value, convenience and competitive prices will be more important than ever in the year ahead. “

A Dow Jones Market Watch article explains: “Shopping online helps cut gas costs that would be accrued shuttling to and from the mall. Of course, all of this doesn’t necessarily mean that these online shoppers will spend less. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they end up spending the same amount, but getting more for their dollar,” said Bruce Weinberg, marketing and ecommerce professor at Bentley College in Waltham, Mass. “It’s like going to a happy hour when appetizers are half price, but deciding to buy two appetizers instead of one because it’s such a deal”, he said.

Robert Rook, president of Makeup.com, has already seen an increase in traffic to his site. “If gas prices continue to increase, we expect makeup.com to continue to thrive as more consumers shop for comparable products. With free shipping, special offers and product savings, makeup.com customers actually save more money than if they were to shop at a traditional storefront. If we see gas prices reach $4.00 per gallon as some predict, I would expect to see an even greater shift in consumers ordering online.”

Once people shop online, they aren’t likely to go back to the hassles of shopping at brick and mortar stores. The following blog was posted on an ecommerce site this week. “I bought a garden shed kit a couple of weeks back; didn’t leave my chair and it was shipped to my door; and I’m a very happy camper. It’s not something I’d usually buy sight unseen, but the motivators for me to purchasing this shed were the way the items were presented on the site – good pricing, full details and photos, toll free number and even a series of videos for klutzes like me on how to put it together. It was also one of the first results in my search on Google for garden sheds – getting in the top 5 for any popular related search term is vital.”

Are you ready for the onslaught of shoppers? Talk to your web hosting provider and develop a strategy to get your piece of the lucrative online shopping pie.