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Internet shopping 'on the up'

More and more Britons are purchasing goods on the internet, according to researchers at retail body IMRG.

The firm has released figures for January showing a 75 per cent growth in internet sales.

An average spend of £74 for every person in the UK - from a total of £4.5 billion - was also registered by IMRG.

Year-on-year, electrical items grew 38 per cent, with clothing rising 32 per cent.

Health and beauty products marked an 18 per cent increase - around twice that of beers, wines and spirits (ten per cent).

Commenting on the findings, David Smith at IMRG said: "Although we've seen growth over the past year and we anticipated growth in January, we weren't expecting that level."

Anthoula Madden at consultants Capgemini, which helped with the study, added: "The index shows that January sales are as large a phenomenon online as they are on the high street.

"The high growth in electricals and clothing suggests that much of this spending is being driven by shoppers treating themselves to the items missing from their Christmas stockings."

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