Online spending hits new peak

Growth in online shopping surpassed expectations last year. Most of the key annual indicators are now in, and show a consistent pattern. Verdict Research says the UK value was up 28.9 per cent to £8.2 billion, and growth was 19 times as much as in overall retail spending. Interactive Media in Retail Group says Christmas spending was up 50 per cent to £5 billion – a finding echoed by Royal Mail’s increase of 44 per cent in items handled (to 77 million). IMRG’s figure for the whole of 2005 is £19.6bn (calculated on a different basis from Verdict’s). In the US, JupiterResearch says online spending reached $81 billion last year, and will rise 17 per cent to $95 billion this year, increasing to $144 billion by 2010.