Total online spending by British shoppers has hit £100 billion, research shows. This figure dates back to April 1995 when e-retail first launched, according to the Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG). Britons spent £3.465 billion online last month - up 55% year-on-year.
This annual increase was the largest recorded since December 2003. IMRG managing director Jo Evans described the £100 billion total online spend as an "astonishing landmark". "It"s been obvious for a couple of decades that a secure, networked consumer marketplace would arrive and be popular, but actually witnessing its profound success and meteoric growth still takes my breath away," she said.
John Lewis reported 44.9% growth in online sales for this year so far compared with the same period in 2006. The UK"s first secure online shopping transaction was a book bought from WHSmith in April 1995, according to the IMRG. Britain"s online spending is monitored by the IMRG - the industry body set up in 1990 to represent e-retailers.