Broadband driving online shopping

Broadband is helping to drive the continuing growth of the UK’s online shopping revolution says new research from the Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG).

In their annual review, IMRG reveal that ten years on e-commerce in 2004 accounted for £14.5 billion of sales in the UK. And all the indications are that growth in online shopping is about to accelerate even faster, boosted by the increased penetration of domestic broadband access, emergence of new transaction-enabling technologies, and steady improvements in infrastructure.

Describing 2004 as a key year for online shopping in the UK, the IMRG comment that the sector has made steady progress in terms of numbers of online shoppers, volume of sales, and general visibility within the wider retail environment. In 2004, the e-retail industry began to be regarded as a mainstream shopping channel.