Online sales will make up 15 per cent of all UK retail sales by the end of 2007, worth up to £40bn, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR).
The research, conducted on behalf of price comparison web site uSwitch, also predicts that internet sales will make up 40 per cent of all purchases by 2020.
This is a rise from just two per cent of total retail spend in 2002 and has been driven by online sales of products such as music, films and holidays.
The CEBR says the increasing speed of broadband and lower prices is turning web-based buying into a way of life for UK consumers.
‘The dramatic surge in online shopping last Christmas shows that UK consumers are already savvy to the benefits of buying online,’ said uSwitch head of communications Steve Weller.
‘Broadband prices have fallen up to 17 per cent while speeds have gone up, making it cheaper and simpler for consumers to log on instead of going out to the shops.’
Weller says online security has also improved, boosting confidence in internet shopping.
Retailers are increasingly discovering the need to invest in e-commerce infrastructure, he adds, with retailers seeing in-store profits fall at Christmas as online sales soared.
The research showed that other popular products purchased online include groceries, books, sporting goods, event tickets and insurance.
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