UK Online retailing grows at its fastest rate since 2001
A survey by retail analysts Verdict Research suggests that the amount of money spent by consumers shopping online increased by 33.4% to £10.9bn last year and online sales will almost triple over the next five years, with faster and cheaper internet access driving the growth at a time when many High Street retailers were seeing demand wane.

 

Two thirds of the 3,000 customers surveyed had broadband internet connections and shopped online more often because of it, with the research group predicting that  online retailing will be worth about £28.1bn in 2011, or about 8.9% of the UK's total retail sales.

 

UK retailers boosting their online operations, including Ikea and Waterstones, Verdict identified three types of retailers that were proving reluctant to increase their online presence:

 

  1. - Food retailers that were not already providing an online service were staying off because the cost of launching a web operation was too high.
  2.  
  3. - Value retailers such as Primark and Matalan have tended not to launch online operations because their business models depend on driving sales in their stores.mall

  5. - Small, specialist retailers have been avoiding online sales because their small scale made it difficult to pay for the necessary infrastructure.
Graph: Online spending growth

 

"Even with some retailers staying out of the market, online sales in the UK are set to triple in value,"

Verdict explained according to the BBC Online. "By 2011, the typical spend of an online shopper will

grow to £1,056 per year with the clothing and footwear, DIY and gardening, and food and grocery

sectors achieving the fastest growth"