UK online sales hit £5 billion in July
21 Aug 2010
UK consumers preferred to stay indoors and spend money online rather than venture out in a wetter than usual July, which led to the highest monthly online retail sales since before the recession.
Online monthly retail sales hit £5 billion in July, which was the highest recorded in three years, as the unseasonally high rainfall levels kept more consumers from shopping at malls and stores.
According to figures by IMRG and Capgemini for July, internet sales were up a full 18 per cent as against the same month last year, with the average Briton spending more than £81 online during the month.
The impressive year-on-year increase was also the highest since 2007.
The e-Retail Sales Index that tracks online sales across more than 100 retailers in the UK showed that travel sales did particularly well, up by a third as against a year ago as UK consumers made their way to sunnier climes to escape the poor weather at home.
Alcohol sales, though, suffered and according to analysts the picture would have no doubt been different if England had advanced further in the World Cup in South Africa.