UK shoppers are world's biggest online spenders says UKCA

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Apr 21, 2017

UK households spend more online than those in any other country, a report from the UK Cards Association (UKCA), showed Friday. And almost a quarter of clothes are now bought online as pureplay e-tailers get bigger and physical store retailers perfect their omnichannel offer.

Spending has soared by 28% in just two years, reaching £154 billions last year from £120 billion in 2014. That also means UK shoppers are spending £422 million online each day, the report said.

And the actual figure is higher than that because the calculations only include spending that is processed in the UK. Payments by shoppers who buy directly from foreign companies, including Amazon which is boosting its share of the fashion sector, will be processed abroad. These amounts are likely to add significantly to the total spend.

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While recent data for global spending is not available, the report also showed that by 2015, UK households were spending an average of $5,900 (£4.600) online annually in 2015, compared to $4,600 for US households, $2,400 for French and $1,500 for Chinese.

Britain’s e-tail market is the biggest in Europe, UKCA said, and the third biggest globally. Only the US and China are ahead of it and both those countries have significantly larger populations.

The report said consumers now go online for 23% of all clothing spend. And for online spending overall, the amount of money laid out is higher than in-store at £85 for an average transaction, compared to £38 in physical stores.