As news of the UK being the largest internet based economy was released yesterday, it is no surprise that research reveals UK consumers are spending vast amounts online, purchasing anything from fruit to fashion.
The 2012 WorldPay eCommerce Basket survey sampled 2,000 UK online shoopers, revealing that consumers spent £3,370 online in the UK last year.
According to the report nearly 60% of consumers shop online up to three times per month and 40% reported shopping at least four times per month.
10% of respondents said that in a month it was normal to purchase products online 10 or more times.
Gabriel Hopkins, head of eCommerce products at WorldPay, said the UK ecommerce sector continues to remain strong.
"Every day we hear reports that consumer belts are tightening due to the current economic conditions, but eCommerce continues to grow at a healthy rate, particularly in the UK," said Hopkins. "Customers are spending vast amounts online, and use online channels to regularly purchase anything."
Hopkins also pointed out that mobile is an important UK growth area for internet spending from a payments perspective.
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"UK consumers are predicted to be the biggest mobile shoppers in Europe in 2012, and have been for a couple of years already," said Hopkins. "There is a huge appetite for shopping online anytime, anywhere, which the explosion in mobile devices enables. The rules are changing for retailers and they need to make sure the needs and demands of consumers are met in order to continue this growth."
Eric Abensur, CEO at Venda, an on demand convergent commerce provider, agrees that mobile is a key area for growth in theUK and believes 4G will help spur even more growth in UK mobile commerce.
"The launch of next-generation mobile internet will be the next huge leap in the value of this sector," said Abensur. "The eventual 4G spectrum auction will provide huge impetus for growth of the mobile commerce sector. If the government is looking for areas to galvanise growth they need look no further than pushing for the auction to happen sooner rather than later."
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