Record growth for UK online sales

Internet shopping tops £4bn a month in July thanks to miserable weather

Wet weather drove consumers online

UK online sales topped £4bn in a month for the first time as wet weather in July drove shoppers on to the web, according to latest figures from online retail body IMRG.

Internet sales surged 80 per cent from £2.34bn in July 2006 to £4.2bn, with electrical goods (up 102 per cent) and clothing (up 56 per cent) the biggest improvers.

The growth is almost double that recorded in previous months, said IMRG chief executive James Roper, and was driven not just by the weather but by improvements to retail web sites and faster domestic internet connections.

‘July’s extraordinarily strong market growth spotlights the high level of consumer demand,’ he said.

‘But we still have nowhere near enough capacity to meet shoppers’ appetite for e-retail.

‘With nearly half of homes yet to acquire broadband and massive potential for improvement available in every aspect of it, strong e-retail growth is set to continue for many years to come.’

Overall retail sales also increased during July, according to the Office for National Statistics, but it attributed the growth to discounting and sales as retailers tried to lure consumers back to the high street.