UK online spending rises in December

Online spending rose 14.2 per cent on the year last month in the UK, outperforming the wider retail industry but slowing from earlier last year and suggesting the sector is not immune to economic downturn, a survey found.

Online retail industry body IMRG and consultants Capgemini said yesterday online spending rose 25 per cent last year to £43.8 billion, with growth slowing to 15 per cent in the second half from 38 per cent in the first. They forecast growth would remain around 15 per cent this year.

"Our research provides further evidence consumers are turning to the Internet as the most efficient way to save money in the downturn," said Mike Petevinos, head of retail consulting at Capgemini UK.

The British Retail Consortium said Tuesday like-for-like retail sales fell 3.3 per cent last month, the biggest drop for the key Christmas trading month in its survey's 14-year history.

The IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index, which collected data from around 70 internet retailers, found shoppers spent £4.67 billion online last month.

That was down 1.5 per cent on the month, which IMRG and Capgemini attributed in part to record sales in November.

A separate poll of 2,000 consumers found 37 per cent did at least half their Christmas shopping online and 60 per cent spent more online this Christmas than in 2007.

It also showed shoppers increasingly use the internet to search for best deals, visiting retailer websites an average of 17 times for each online transaction.

Online clothing sales leapt 32 per cent last month year-on-year, auguring well for a trading update from online fashion group ASOS due on Monday.

Online spending on electrical goods was up seven per cent but, in a sign consumers may be cutting back on luxuries, online spending was down four per cent on health and beauty products, down 11 per cent on lingerie and down 16 per cent on alcohol.