UK e-biz enjoys bumper Christmas

Online shopping sales sparkled again this Christmas despite significantly weaker retail demand, newly published market research has revealed.

The latest data from e-commerce industry body IMRG shows that the online bonanza came in sharp contrast to disappointing high street results, following what the British Retail Consortium described as "the worst Christmas for retailers in the past decade".

According to IMRG, e-retail sales for November and December were up 20 per cent on the previous year's exceptionally high levels, outperforming the high street by a factor of eight.

High street sales, in contrast, grew by just 2.5 per cent. Half of the UK population shopped online this Christmas, spending more than £3bn, representing 6.8 per cent of all UK retail sales. Stores without websites paid the price in poorer sales.

The IMRG Index reached an all time high of 1,766 in November, just 57 months on from its start point of 100 in April 2000. UK online shopping sales for 2004 were valued at £14.5bn.

IMRG chief executive James Roper said: "Growth was slower this Christmas than last year but the entire marketplace has been more difficult and e-commerce has not escaped that.

"It has still done well and, as the take-up of broadband increases and more retailers invest in their websites, more shopping will move online."

In December, online sales of electrical goods were 42 per cent higher than last year, more than two and a half times the online market's average growth.

Internet shopping sales grew steadily throughout the run up to Christmas, peaking in the week commencing 5 December and 44 per cent higher than in the first week of November.