Online shopping hit record numbers over Christmas 2004, with online retailers experiencing a 23% increase in internet traffic from December 2003, according to a report from web monitoring firm Hitwise.
Data from Hitwise showed that online shopping performed well in the period between August and December 2004, with market share of all UK internet traffic directed to retail sites increasing from just over 10% in August to more than 12% in December.
The week ending 4 December saw the strongest performance in the sector, with online retail traffic surpassing 13%. The top 20 UK online retail websites for December included Amazon, Argos and auction site eBay.
Over the past few years, the popularity of e-shopping has grown substantially, as people are increasingly using it as a means of booking holidays, buying household items and gifts.
The BMRB’s Internet Monitor survey, released in October 2004, cited average online spend in the past six months amongst e-shoppers, to have increased from £572 to £605, with total annual internet spend at £19.4 billion, a 10% rise since August last year (see Popularity Of E-Shopping Continues To Grow).
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