An event intended to highlight Bermuda's online retailers drew thousands of online visitors, both locally and internationally.

Speaking at the House of Assembly yesterday, Minister of Business Development and Tourism Patrice Minors said the eMonday event lead to 2,500 online visitors, with 1,200 using the eMonday website (www.emonday.bm) to find participating retailers.

"These visitors were predominately Bermuda-based, but our statistics also indicated visitors from the US, Canada, the Cayman Islands and the UK," Ms Minors said.

"While an increase in traffic was and is an excellent sign that there is interest in online shopping in the local market, we hope that this initiative will evolve into one that contains a significant number of sales."

Almost 50 local "e-tailers" signed up for this year's eMonday on November 15, with 43 offering discounts.

Ms Minors said that in the current economic climate, businesses and organisations need to find new ways to reach their market, including using the internet.

To help bring local businesses online, three workshops were held to provide information about processing payments and building websites.

"If we are to ensure that our local economy remains vibrant and viable, then we must support and encourage the development of e-commerce in our local retail sector," Ms Minors said.

"Overall, eMonday was considered a worthwhile campaign by those that participated and I am pleased to announce that eMonday will be back next year."

Michael Burke of The Green House Bermuda (www.thegreenhousebermuda.com), a business that sells energy saving and eco-friendly products, said while the eMonday didn't drum up sales, it did bring more visitors to his site.

"We didn't make any sales, but we did get a few inquiries," he said. "I hope they do it again, maybe even every Wednesday. I'm sure other businesses would be up for it."

The eMonday initiative was developed by the Ministry of Business Development and Tourism, with sponsorship from the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce Retail Division, the Bermuda Small Business Development Corporation (BSBDC) and North Rock Communications.