Online Shopping to grow by 13.3% in 2009

Monday, 22 June 2009 12:04

According to Verdict Research's UK e-Retail 2009 report, although the internet is undoubtedly starting to slow and become a much more competitive environment, online retail is still set to reach GBP31.2 billion by 2013, accounting for 10.0% of total retail spending.

According to the report, the total retail growth will go down by 0.6% as consumer spending is effected by recession. However, the online market will expand by a substantial 13.3% over the course of the year, driven by continued increases in the number of internet shoppers and higher expenditure per head. This follows on from the trend of 2008 when there was a 1.0% increase in internet users - to 34.4 million - and an 18.1% increase in online shoppers - to 26.7 million - with each of these individuals spending an average of 5.8% more in comparison to 2007.

There are various reasons attributable to the rise. Internet prices are frequently cheaper than they are in physical stores and shoppers are able to search out bargains, including second-hand goods, more easily.