01 February 2010 | Author: D. Warburton Search Copywriter

UK is Europe's top online spender

British consumers have been identified as Europe's top online spenders, with almost one third of the continent's internet sales in 2009 originating in the UK.

This research was carried out by price comparison website Kelkoo for the Centre for Retail Research, and revealed that consumers in the UK spent an estimated £38 billion online in 2009, accounting for 30 per cent of total online sales in Europe. It also confirmed that online sales proved resilient last year, despite the impact felt on high street stores by the recession.

Online spending in the UK grew by 12 per cent in 2009, with purchases over the internet accounting for 9.5 per cent of all retail sales. The report also predicted increased growth of 12.4 per cent in 2010, to reach £42.7 billion.

Kelkoo UK managing director Bruce Fair stated: "While the retail industry is showing slow signs of recovery, the online shopping sector bucked the trend in 2009 delivering double-digit growth, and is expected to continue to perform strongly in 2010."

Germany and France were found to be the second and third biggest online spenders, and together with the UK, the three West Europe nations made up 70 per cent of the market. The smallest online retail market was in Poland, where sales accounted for £2.2 billion, followed by Finland with £2.3 billion and Norway at £2.9 billion.

Online retail sales are predicted to rise at an even greater rate across Europe as a whole, with the market set to expand by 19.6 per cent in 2010 as more shoppers abandon the high street and head online.

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