Online sales rose by 15.7% in July, with UK shoppers spending
£4.2bn on retail sites.
Sales were up 15.7% compared to spending in June, and 16.8%
compared to July 2008, according to the
IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index.
Consumer confidence may be increasing as the clothing and
electrical sectors grew over the month. Clothing, footwear and
accessories grew 18% month on month, 17% year on year. This is
likely to be due to increased consumer confidence when shopping
online, and more sophisticated marketing strategies that online
clothing retailers have employed.
But wet weather was blamed for a slump in online alcohol sales,
which saw a decline of 23% year on year.
Mike Petevinos, Head of Consulting for Retail for
Capgemini UK, said: "Online continues to perform strongly. This
growth continues to be driven by the apparel and electrical sectors
as retailers improve their online propositions with better product
information, visual merchandising and delivery methods. The other
stand-out result this month was the beers, wines and spirits sector
which saw a year on year decline of 23%, no doubt due to the
wettest July on record for England and Wales."