The volume of business at the Island's largest courier firm has grown by nearly 90 percent in a single year, mainly due to a rise in Internet shopping, according to the company's president.

IBC's president and chief executive officer Glen Smith said that he and his staff were working around the clock to get deliveries out to their customers.

And Mr. Smith, whose company also runs the highly popular ZipX, said that most staff were working overtime to cope with the huge volume of packages -- up to 6,500 pounds in one delivery.

"Our sales have gone up by between 87 and 89 percent,'' he said yesterday.

"I think that a lot more people are buying on the Internet and are educated a bit more about handing over payment this way. Once they have done it once, they are more likely to do it again.'' He said many people now viewed shopping as entertainment, and shopping on the Internet was also a similar kind of entertainment.

And he added that many people in Bermuda had two jobs and simply did not have time to shop in stores for their goods, but go on line after working hours.

"Internet is not nine to five, it is after hours shopping from the comfort of your own home,'' he said.

He said his staff were working hard to get the large volume of goods out to customers in Bermuda.

"This time of year is always challenging. We are operating from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. at the moment and many of the staff are working overtime. We are all doing the best we can with the volume of goods. We took on an extra charter with DHL. We both brought in 12,000 lbs in one day on this.

"Overall the volume has definitely gone up.'' But he added that the volume of goods being traded on-line the other way from local shops with web sites such as Triminghams, Coopers and Gosling overseas had also increased by a large amount.

"I can't help what people's spending trends are, but we are helping the local trade with this service. They are obviously getting active hits on their web site.

"People's spending habits have changed. People are used to sitting around a television together, and now they sit around the Internet for the same entertainment. Now people don't need to go shopping, the go looking for entertainment which is why they go to malls on their holidays. That is what the Internet provides, entertainment.''