UK Online spending to hit 56 billion pounds by 2014

Can you afford to let your website get left behind in the rankings when new figures released today suggest that spending in the online retail sector could break the £56 billion mark by 2014?

The current figures show that the UK is leading the online shopping trend, with the 2008 total reaching over £36 billion.

On average, each UK consumer spent £1,312 last year; much more than German internet users (£771) and nearly twice as much as French consumers (£693).

The online shopping boom has been fuelled by strong Online Marketing and Brand Positioning by the top retail outlets. Amazon, Argos, Play and Tesco all came through very strongly in a recent poll from online analysts Hitwise.

According to Forrester Research, internet sales are expected to grow year-on-year by six per cent over the next six years. As more customers join the Digital Media shopping revolution, the UK number of internet users is set to grow by nine million people to a total of 37 million by 2014.

That additional 9 million people will raise the value of the online retail market in the UK to approximately £56 billion. Christmas sales in particular are a crucial spending time for the online market, as UK shoppers spent more than four and a half billion pounds in the Christmas period last year.

The Forrester Research report found: “Leading UK retailers such as Argos, Next, and Tesco have begun integrating their channels in search of seamless cross-channel customer experiences to help drive substantial sales growth,” according to managementconsultancy.co.uk.

The continued demand in the UK for DVDs, books and games via the internet is sure to secure the future group of the online retail space.