IMRG forecasts that UK eCommerce figures will hit £19.6bn in 2005

Ecommerce revenues in the UK will reach £19.6bn this year - more than triple the figure for 2002, according to a forecast from the Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG).
Customers are expected to spend 35% more this year, according to IMRG's E-Retail 2005 report, which also reveals that online sales grew from £6.4bn in 2002 to reach £14.5bn last year. The number of consumers that had made an online purchase rose from 12m to 20m during the same period.

The forecast from IMRG is that 24m UK consumers will shop online this year.

The average annual spend has also risen considerably over the past few years, rising from £167 in 1999 to £727. A further rise of £89 is predicted in 2005.

"Consumers have a simple proposition. Internet shopping is easier, convienient and offers bigger ranges and a lot of the major retailers are having to get to grips with it because consumers are dragging them into the space" said James Roper, CEO of IMRG.

"Our sample represents over a third of all retailers in the UK," he said, "so it gives a very good idea of what's happening with Internet shopping."