UK shoppers take advantage of weak dollar

According to the Telegraph, thousands of UK shoppers are finding a new way to exploit the weakening dollar by ordering goods from US websites and having them shipped over here. According to figures obtained by The Sunday Telegraph, online purchases by UK shoppers from two of the US's biggest department stores have increased by 150 per cent over the last year.

According to data from Retail Decisions, a company that tracks and protects online payments, internet sales to UK credit card holders from a major 800-strong US department store chain grew by 163 per cent over the year to November, while sales at a second 2,000-strong chain grew by 131 per cent. The average transaction value was $260 (£131).

The US shopping blitz coincides with downbeat forecasts for UK retailers' Christmas hopes. These will be confirmed on Tuesday when the British Retail Consortium-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor reports that like-for-like sales in November rose by less than one per cent. The lacklustre figure compares to a 2.6 per cent increase over October.