10% of retail sales now online

The Internet Media Retail Group (IMRG) has released its latest index data of sales by e-retailers and found that some £80bn worth of consumer spending in this country is either conducted on or influenced by the internet.

Of this amount, £30bn is attributed to online retail spending and ‘other consumer spending’ accounts for a further £20bn. The remaining £30bn results from customers who use the internet to research an item before purchase or made their purchase because they saw it advertised online.

A staggering 90% of consumers said they have researched goods online before purchasing them offline, the IMRG said, and 52% said they plan to reduce their high street spending this year in favour.

Nearly half of shoppers said they expect their internet purchases to increase.

The figure is in line with the growing trend toward online shopping, which has seen e-retail sales grow at an average year-on-year rate of 45% in each of the last six months and, in total, by 2,000% over the past six years, according to the IMRG.

The study also looked at the impact of e-retailing on certain high street sectors and discovered that respondents were unanimous in researching music online before making a purchase. Some 81% followed this trend when buying books, while 70% researched their travel options and 55% looked up computer equipment.

The IMRG warned that the online sector’s meteoric growth means that not only are businesses that don’t sell online currently missing out, but those who are must be certain that their websites are well designed and up to date.

Nearly half of consumers in the study said that if they cannot find an item on a retailer’s website they assume that it is not available in the store.

The IMRG polled 3,900 consumers in its survey.