Online spending set to hit £21bn as shop sales shrink

Published on Tuesday 23 June 2009 21:36

SHOPPERS are set to increase the amount they spend online by 137 per cent by the end of 2011 – as high street sales plummet, a new report has claimed.

Online payment service PayPal forecast that online sales will rise by 12.3 billion to 21.3bn over the period – one in 14 of every pound spent – while the amount of cash spent in high street shops will slump by 8.3bn.

The projected figures would see the online retail market more than double its market share from 3.2 per cent in 2008 to a possible 7.4 per cent of total retail spending by the end of 2011.

Carl Scheible, managing director of PayPal UK, said: "The value of online retail can no longer be dismissed as a sideshow."

He added: "The recession has been tough for many UK retailers as they deal with the slowdown and its knock-on impact on consumer spending. Of course, many of the major high street brands have enjoyed the online boom, despite facing challenges in their own stores."