Online spending reaches new heights
Average weekly expenditure on the internet eclipses £2 billion for the first time
MORE than one in every five pounds we spend in shops is now spent online.
The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show internet sales make up a rising proportion of how we spend our money.
Online sales in December 2019 were worth 21.3% of all retailing.
This equated to a weekly average spend of £2.1 billion - the first time this figure has topped £2 billion, and the highest weekly average on record.
The average value of weekly internet sales has grown by 12% in a single year, from £1.9 billion in December 2018.
This is substantially more than the average weekly value of non-internet sales, which has only increased 1% over the last year.
This means instore retail sales are making up a smaller proportion of how we spend our money.
Instore sales accounted for 78.7% of total retailing in December last year, a fall from 87.2% in December 2014. Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium Helen Dickinson said: “The digital transformation is changing the nature of shopping. “Over the last ten years, the proportion of online sales has
grown from 6% to 19% and will undoubtedly continue to rise.
“The most successful retailers are those who effectively integrate their physical and digital offerings allowing customers to browse online before purchasing instore or testing instore before making a final purchase online.”
Online-only stores are the biggest contributor to the average weekly internet spend, with sales worth £1.1 billion.
Spending online at high street clothes and shoe stores was next and accounted for £250.7 million per week in sales.
However, that sector has seen a dip in spending, down 2% year-on-year.
Sales for food stores have also fallen, down 6% in a year to an average weekly spend of £194.6 million.
An area that has grown substantially online is sales for high street household goods stores.
The average weekly spend increased by 19% from £113.4 million in December 2018 to £135.3 million in December last year.