A new report from eMarketer forecasts that 42.8 million Britons will go online in 2012, accounting for about 70% of the population.
As far as e-commerce is concerned, eMarketer says that the UK will account for 40% of 2008 online sales in Western Europe.
The Nielsen Global Online Survey, published in January, revealed that more than 85% of the world’s online population has used the internet to make a purchase – increasing the market for online shopping by 40% in the past two years (see Global Market For Online Shopping Increases 40%).
Karin von Abrams, author of the eMarketer report, said: “The number of buyers and the average annual spend per buyer are both growing, helping the country to maintain its e-commerce lead over other European nations.”
In separate research, eMarketer forecast that UK online ad spending will pass £3 billion in 2008, and show healthy growth despite financial and political uncertainty in Britain (see UK Online Adspend To Pass £3bn In 2008).