Shoppers Desert The High Street For The Online Experience
Just when many retailers thought it could not get much worse it has been confirmed that 17p in every £1 spent in the UK retail market is now being spent online and this figure is only set to rise. An IMRG-Capgemini sales report has estimated that some £26.5 billion was spent on line in the first 6 months of this year, a rise of 38% on the same period in 2007.
While the rise in online sales should come as no surprise to those shoppers who have been using online facilities for some time, it is the resilience to the current economic downturn which has surprised analysts. The sector seems to be immune, at the moment, from pressure on the economy as more and more shoppers look for bargains online. There is also the issue of travelling to out of town shopping parks and the extra cost in fuel which is hitting consumers hard.
It may have taken longer than many thought but it seems as though the online spending boom predicted many months (if not years) ago is starting to take shape. However, the fact that this is at the expense of traditional retail outlets is not a good sign for employment prospects in this area.
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