UK online spending to double by 2011

Category: Money
Date: 6/24/2009

The amount of money Britons spend online is set to more than double by the end of 2011, meaning one in every £14 spent by shoppers will be used on internet purchases.

Shopping on the web has increased significantly in recent years as faster home connections have become more prevalent.

A further boom in the industry will see online shopping increase from £8.9 billion currently, to as much as £21.3 billion, according to PayPal. Should the forecast of 137 per cent growth be correct, consumers will be spending the equivalent of £430 each on internet purchases in 2011, making it the strongest year ever for the sector.

Offline shopping is also expected to record an increase in 2011, as the UK emerges from the worst of the economic downturn.

The report also found that nearly four in ten online shoppers think budgeting is easier for them on the internet as opposed to the high street, while almost half said their money went further on the web.

The most popular areas for online shoppers over the last six months have been travel and finance, while major purchases such as fridges and freezers have also proved attracted much attention.

"As we all try to make our budgets work harder during the recession, it is hardly surprising many of us have headed online to seek a better deal," said Carl Scheibe, managing director of the payment service.

"In fact, almost nine million of us now shop online at least once a week."