UK consumers will spend over £52 billion online in 2015

Wednesday, January 28, 2015 - 13:28 by Graham Miller

2015 will be a year in which British people splash out a combined total of £52.25 billion via safe shopping online, according to a new report from the Centre for Retail Research.

Last year, the total e-commerce expenditure was just under £45 billion, so there is clearly still growth to be undergone by the market.

The maturity of online shopping in the UK means that even with growth of 16.2 per cent this year, it will still fall below the European average of 18.4 per cent.

While growth may be slowing marginally, this year and the next will still allow e-commerce companies to make big gains.

Where Britain does lead the pack is in terms of the average amount which will be spent via safe shopping online per consumer. A typical British shopper can expect to invest £1,174 in online purchases in 2015, much higher than the £820 average for the entire continent.

The UK even outstrips the US in terms of average online spending, making it a global trend setter when it comes to e-commerce.

Industry expert, Giulio Montemagno, told The Drum that retailers have been investing heavily to help improve the experience of online shopping for customers. And in the UK this is essential, given the number of people who are now regular users of e-commerce sites.

The retail market as a whole is being propped up by the web, as bricks and mortar sales are going to decline by 1.4 per cent in Europe this year. Overall, the market growth of two per cent predicted by analysts is only possible thanks to the strong performance of online outlets.

Mr Montemagno pointed to mobile as being a defining feature of the industry in 2015, not only as a means of shopping online but also for enhancing in-store experiences.