Online retail sales 'up 14.6% in January'

11:27 10th February 2010

Sales carried out through online retail sites rose during January, new figures have revealed.

In a study which may interest companies using ecommerce facilities in Lancashire, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) found that non-food non-store sales were up 14.6 per cent from 12 months earlier.

While the rise was smaller than that seen in December, Sharon Hardiman, head of non-store retailing at the organisation, said it still represented "strong sales growth".

"The wintry weather encouraged some people to shop on the internet rather than going out in the snow, with retailers reporting an increase in new online customers as a result," she explained.

"Non-store retailing is growing faster than store sales but represents only four per cent of total retail sales."

The research also revealed that UK retail sales values fell by 0.7 per cent on a like-for-like basis from January 2009.

According to figures published by the Centre for Retail Research, online spending in the UK could reach £42.7 billion this year.

It was also revealed that Brits spent £38 billion online during 2009, which accounted for 30 per cent of total internet sales seen across Europe.

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