E-Commerce Sales On The Up

The latest figures from the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index is in, and it reveals that UK shoppers have been splashing the cash over the course of last year.

During December, the equivalent of £111 per person was spent online, amounting to a total of £6.8 billion. As an upshot, sales were up 7 percent on November and up 25 percent on December 2009, the Index value hitting a record high.

It's been a great year for online retail in the UK, according to the Index, with £58.8 billion being spent over the web throughout 2010, increasing the Index by 18 percent, much higher than the original prediction of 13 percent. This year, the Index is predicted to grow by a further 18 percent, total e-retail sales expected to reach £69 billion.

Despite predictions of poor sales over the festive period, then, online retailers appear to have bucked the trend, with above-average year-on-year growth in almost all sectors. Poor weather helped, with the cold leading consumers to buy from the comfort of their homes, as did knowledge of an impending VAT increase.

James Roper, chief executive at IMRG, comments: “December saw an incredible jump in online sales as a result of the weather conditions and it’s reassuring to see that despite the coverage of delivery problems, consumer confidence was not affected. Growing confidence and reliance on e-retail during times of adversity, whether that’s harsh weather conditions or belt-tightening as a result of the economy, has been reflected in the impressive growth throughout 2010.”