Online spending at auction sites rockets

£2.8bn spent on auction sites in the UK last year

Fourteen per cent of adults who use the internet made their most recent online purchase from an auction site according to a survey by Apacs, the UK payments association.

The figures show that 4.9 million of the 34 million adults who shop online made their most recent purchase from an auction site in 2005. There were 79 million transactions over this period and £2.8bn was spent.

The report reveals that 52 per cent of all adults and 74 per cent of internet users made an online purchase during 2005 – an increase of 11 per cent of users over 2004.

In addition to the increase in the number of adults spending online, the number of purchases being made is growing – the average number of purchases rose from 13.6 in 2004 to 18.5 in 2005.

Online card spending figures were up from 262 million transactions in 2004 to 310 million in 2005. The value of these transactions increased from £16bn in 2004 to £22bn last year.

Credit cards represent 49 per cent of all online payments and six per cent for high street spending. Approximately 13 per cent of all personal credit card spending is made online.

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