UK online retail to grow by %16 in 2014

The UK online retail market is expected to reach £45 billion in transactions by the end of 2014 ($74.7 billion).

According to research commissioned by the world’s largest coupon marketplace and owner of vouchercodes.co.uk, RetailMeNot, internet retail based purchases are predicted to rise by %16. That %16 growth calculates to an average of 18 purchases yearly made by UK residents. UK residents are expected to spend an average of £1000 for online purchases this year.

"In 2014, we are expecting to see online sales across Europe grow at a rate that is 11.9 times faster than in-store sales. In the UK, online retail is expected to increase by 15.8% this year while the offline segment will grow by only 2.4%," said Giulio Montemagno, senior vice president of International at RetailMeNot. "With such a competitive retail environment it's more important than ever that retailers look to mobile devices and the web to incentivise shoppers to make purchases online and in-store. Successful retailers will consider the Internet not as a threat but as a powerful complement which can help them increase their sales," Montemagno added.

The research study consisted of data collected from 100 online UK retailers and 9,000 consumers across 9 different markets.

Comparing the UK to other leading markets such as the US shows a lower %15 growth. However the size of the US market is substantially larger and is predicted to reach £189.3 billion (roughly $314.5 billion). Europe is expected to grow by %18 resulting in an estimated £131.2 billion (roughly $218 billion).

“While the e-Commerce sector is continuing to grow rapidly, we are starting to see the German, the UK and the US markets mature as shopping online becomes a commonplace activity," said Montemagno.

The UK is the largest Ecommerce market in Europe and was responsible for £38.8 billion ($64.4 billion) in sales during 2013.

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