In our weekly look into the world of business, Luke Pritchard from our corporate & commercial department, takes a look at the growing impact the internet is having on business success…

Thursday saw “Snap”, the parent company of Snapchat, float on the New York Stock Exchange. It was valued at $24bn, making it worth twice as much as Tesco, despite never having turned a profit.

Having been incorporated by Ben Francis at the age of 20 in 2012, sales of the gym clothing company “Gymshark” are expected to exceed £27m this year. Gymshark has a combined social media following of 20 million people and Francis puts much of the brand’s success down to the company’s ability to connect with people on social media.

Meanwhile, Paula Nickolds, the new managing director of John Lewis, is warning staff to prepare themselves for “significantly” lower bonuses this year, blaming in part, the shift of consumers to online shopping.

Whether it is providing new avenues of social media, new opportunities to advertise or new methods of selling goods and services, as people spend more of their lives online, businesses of all sizes are adapting the way they connect with consumers and embracing the opportunities that this new consumer lifestyle creates.