Records broken in e-commerce market during December 2010

Monday, January 24, 2011 - 10:25 by Mike Price

The cold snap which left many people huddled at home proved to be particularly profitable for firms offering safe shopping online in the UK, as recently published stats show that December was a record month for sales.

Various estimates at the impact of the adverse weather conditions were proved right as IMRG Capgemini has released e-commerce figures which show UK consumers spent £6.8 billion online in December alone.

This figure was up by seven per cent compared to November 2010 and is an increase of exactly a quarter compared to December of the previous year.

Those areas of the market which saw the biggest increases were clothing and alcohol, with the former rising by 40 per cent and the latter up by 36 per cent annually.

The online spend throughout the whole of 2010 has been calculated as £58.8 billion, which is up by almost a fifth from 2009. 2011 is set to be an even better year for online retailers, with consumers likely to spend as much as £69 billion, according to analysts.

IMRG Capgemini's Chris Webster, said that an increasing number of UK consumers were choosing to leave the high street well alone in favour of finding safe shopping online. He believes the main reason for this is the unbalanced economic conditions which mean money will go further online.

The number of people who shop online in the UK is thought to be increasing because there is growing confidence in the retailers who operate in this market. This is played out by the fact that those selling clothes have seen a 50 per cent increase in the number of people who visit the site and subsequently make a purchase, which is good news for everyone, as trust is an invaluable asset.