Online retail sales jumped 54% in the UK last year, proving more consumers are choosing to ditch traditional shopping habits for convenience.
Figures revealed at the Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG) conference in London yesterday (6 March) showed a total spend of GBP46.4bn (US$93.4bn) for 2007.
The jump in sales means that GBP0.15 in every GBP1 spent in the UK retail sector is online, the data from the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index showed.
The number of online shoppers in the UK stood at 26m in 2007, with an average spend of GBP1,719.
Sainsbury’s, the UK’s second-largest online grocery business, saw year-on-year growth of 40% in online grocery sales for 2007, with 90,000 orders per week.
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By GlobalDataWith these figures predicted to continue, competition inevitably will too.
“Online shopping will definitely continue to grow but centred around urban centres,” said Adam Gould, retail director of Teleperformance. “Tesco is the number one for online shopping but they have been in the market the longest and have the maturest model and cover a larger area.
“Sainsbury’s are concentrating on quality and good service, and this will help them gain a good market share in the future.”
Speakers at the conference also forecast growth in online shopping in the EU. “The future for the EU in online shopping is good and we will continue to see growth,” said Pippa Blyth, brand and marketing director of Home Delivery Network.
“The US is experiencing a slow down but are still quite attractive because of numbers and volumes. There is a lot of potential for Asia but it all depends on risk, demand of product and where they want to take it.”