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UK shoppers spent £8.2bn online in 2005
And Royal Mail is cashing in on the boom...

By Andy McCue

Published: Monday 13 February 2006

Online shopping sales shot up to £8.2bn in the UK last year with consumers spending almost as much on the web as they do in high-street department stores, according to the latest figures.

The report from retail analyst Verdict Research found a 29 per cent rise in internet sales, from £6.4bn in 2004 to £8.2bn last year.

The figures put online shopping not far behind the £9.4bn spent by consumers through the cash tills of high-street department stores last year.

New figures released by the Royal Mail this week reveal 70 million items ordered online were delivered in the run-up to Christmas 2005 - a 40 per cent increase on the 55 million items ordered online in 2004.