Online Spending In The UK Rises 18.3% As Fashion And Food Surge

Online spending increased 18.3 per cent in June as UK consumers spend more of their income on grocery deliveries and clothes shopping.

Spending on the internet accounted for 9.7 per cent of all sales or £586.9 million on average each week during the month, according to the Office of National Statistics. The number excludes fuel spending which is included in the total ONS retail spending figure.

Online food sales increased 17.5 per cent and accounted for 3.3 per cent of food market sales while textile, clothing and footwear increased 20.1 per cent and making up 9.3 per cent of that market.

The survey of 5,000 retailers reveal that spending rose 3.8 per cent in June compared to a year earlier taking the total rise over three months to 3 per cent. The increase has been seen as a firm sign that economic recovery is underway.

But spending has been encouraged by heavy discounting and PwC said 85 per cent of high street retailers were on sale or advertising promotions in their shop window in June.