E-commerce buoyant following strong Christmas

Following an unexpectedly positive festive period for UK e-commerce, industry body IMRG has pointed to continuing strong post-Christmas sales online.

Last year, retailers reported sales of almost £60 billion, which marks an 18 percent hike against 2009. Despite the atrocious weather conditions that engulfed much of the UK, the Interactive Media in Retail Group noted that February was a particularly strong month, with £4.9 billion being spent in online stores. That's 20 percent higher than the same time the previous year and works out as £79 per head.

January also saw impressive spending levels at £5.1 billion, and compared against the high street, the online retail market has remained in good shape.

"UK shoppers spent a staggering £10bn online during January and February, a clear indicator of how strong consumer confidence is in the online channel even during a period in which high street spending is down," says Tina Spooner, IMRG's director of information.

"February was a good month for online retail, up 20 percent on the same period last year," adds Chris Webster, head of retail consulting and technology at Capgemini. "This increase is on the back of a very solid second half to 2010 and while some of the growth can be attributed to a weak start last year, nearly £5bn spent online is very significant and in stark contrast to the weak sales experienced by the traditional bricks-and-mortar retailers."