July sees slowest online sales growth for 18 months

Online sales growth hit an 18-month low in July, according to the latest figures from the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index.

British shoppers spent £5.5bn online in July, up just 5 per cent on the previous month and 11.5 per cent year on year, with growth hampered by poor online sales in the travel sector.

Other contributory factors include better weather, which saw more shoppers hitting retail parks and the high street as opposed to shopping online.

The negative growth in the e-travel sector is consistent with the industry at large, with many travel companies seeing bookings decline this year.

The collapse of travel firm Holidays 4U compounded a poor summer's trading.

The online electricals sales declined 3 per cent compared with the same period last year, having grown 17 per cent year on year in July 2010.

However, the high street reported a comparatively decent 2.5 per cent month-on-month sales increase in July helped by a food and clothing sales boost.

And despite the dip in many verticals, certain sectors did perform well online, including home and garden, which increased 27 per cent year on year, compared with growth of just 8 per cent last year.

The clothing sector continued to expand rapidly, seeing a 25 per cent year-on-year rise as shoppers updated their wardrobes for the summer season and took advantage of the sales.