New figures show projected growth for online shopping

Thursday, September 19, 2013 - 10:10 by Graham Miller

By the year 2018, around £1 of every £7 spent in the UK's retail industry will be spent online.

This is according to a new report from analysts at Verdict, which also states that the e-commerce market will be worth £50 billion by this point, up by 50 per cent over the next half-decade.

Online shopping represents roughly a tenth of the entire retail market at the moment, but continued growth will be great news for online retailers and less encouraging for those operating on the high street.

Verdict asked 10,000 British consumers about their habits and found that a tiny proportion of just four per cent said that they get much more enjoyment from carrying out safe shopping online, as opposed to visiting bricks and mortar outlets.

A year and a half ago a similar study revealed that 25 per cent of respondents were still on the side of the high street, which shows that there has been a major slip in public opinion.

Verdict spokesperson, Patrick O'Brien, said that the rise in the usage of tablets and smartphones in the UK has had a slightly unexpected impact on the way people shop. Instead of giving them the incentive to shop when they are out and about, consumers are instead using their portable devices to buy items while sitting on the sofa.

This change of venue may be relatively minor on the surface, but it clearly has an impact on how many people feel induced to part with cash online.

Sixty seven percent of those questioned in the study said that living room shopping was their preference, which means that many people indulge in e-commerce while watching TV, prioritising the act of second screening in an intriguing manner. Retailers will be in a good position to take advantage.