E-commerce Christmas sales to hit £7.4bn

Yet more good news emerged for e-commerce today, after the latest research from security firm Symantec revealed that UK shoppers will spend nearly £7.5bn online this Christmas.

The study, commissioned by Symantec's Norton brand and carried out by YouGov, found that UK web users will spend an average of £234.16 over the period, equating to around £7.4bn.

The figures come just days after industry body the Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG) and payment processor Retail Decisions predicted that online retail sales will peak at a huge £23m an hour on 6 December as the festive shopping period begins in earnest.

Total online spend for November and December is anticipated to be £12.4bn, IMRG said.

Unsurprisingly, there was also a note of caution for online shoppers. Research from payment processor PayPoint.net showed that online stores still do not prioritise fraud prevention highly enough.

Those online retailers surveyed said that an easy payment process (64 per cent), usability (54 per cent) and customer service (52 per cent) are most important to win over customers.

"People should be vigilant in ensuring that they are not lulled into a false sense of security and don't fall victim to online scams just because the site is well presented or easy to navigate," said Michael Norton, managing director of PayPoint.net.

"If people have doubts as to whether a site is genuine, there are things they can look out for, like a returns policy and UK contact details, which they should check before clicking 'buy'."