Are UK Consumers Finally Warming To Online Shopping?
As the UK high street starts to feel the pinch of the worldwide economic slowdown it looks as though many consumers are venturing online for their everyday goods. It seems that finally the forecast of massive growth in online transactions is starting to take shape. Verdict research has released a report which shows online spending on retail purchases reached £14.7 billion in the UK in 2007, a rise of 35% from the previous year.
While the figure of £14.7 billion is significant it is still fairly small in the overall picture but with growth currently driving forward at 10 times the rate of the traditional retail sector it should continue to make inroads for some time to come. The same reports forecasts that online retail trade will reach a staggering £44.9 billion by 2012 – approaching something in the region of 14% of total UK retail spending.
Even though there have been some false starts in the UK online retail market it seems as though there is real momentum behind the latest rise. The experts claim that it is down to a mixture of confidence, security and the mass of discounts and offer available online. The lower cost base for online ventures has seen many traditional retails struggling to compete on price alone.
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