Despite its potential, the World Wide Web is not yet a real or viable alternative for marketing channels in Spain. This research attempts to identify and evaluate the factors that contribute and facilitate the development of the Web as an environment for commercial activities in the food and beverage sector in Spain. Spanish consumers have traditionally shown little interest in all forms of distance buying and direct marketing. A range of factors may facilitate this development such as continuous growth in access to the Internet, continued evolution of computer technology, reductions in Internet connection tariffs, and communication speed. Consumers' income, the availability of information online, and the online consumption experience may also act as an impulse for commercial developments on the Web.