Online retail sales hit 114 billion pounds in 2015

London - As one of the most mature markets in terms of e-commerce in the European Union, it should come as little surprise that online retail sales in the UK recorded a solid 11 percent year on year increase in 2015 - which is equal to 114 billion pounds spent online.

According to the latest figures from the IMRG Capgemini e-retail sales Index, the Christmas trading period (from November 1 to December 26, 2015) witnessed a record amount spent online of 24.4 billion pounds, which is equal to a 12 percent annual increase. 2015 saw the sale of gifts, health and beauty and apparel related retail categories increase 18 percent, 22 percent and 11 percent respectively as consumer purchasing habits shifted towards more discretionary items.

Data from the index shows the largest concentration of online sales during the festive season took place during the week of Black Friday, starting on November 22. Rapidly becoming one of the biggest events in the UK retail calender, online sales grew 62 percent from the previous week as consumers spent an estimated 4.3 billion pounds on promotional goods. This is said to be an significant increase from the 44 percent increase reported during the same period in 2014 and 20 percent in 2013.

"Rounding off a mixed year for e-retail, where we saw single-digit growth in several months, the UK online retail industry recorded a solid performance in December, with sales growth significantly higher than the same month in 2014," said Tina Spooner, Chief Information Officer at IMRG. "As we observed in 2014, the effect of Black Friday resulted in November being the peak month for the online retail industry as consumers brought forward much of their Christmas spending, no doubt boosted by promotional activity around Black Friday."

In addition, mobile commerce saw a 42 percent growth on the previous year in 2015, with 45 percent of all online sales made via a mobile device during the third quarter of the year (August to October) indicating the booming influence of mobile technology, with the majority of all growth driven by sales made on a mobile.

"Sales via smartphones continue to grow at a significantly higher rate than those via tablets, with sales growth during December reaching the highest recorded during 2015 at 117.5 percent year-on-year," added Spooner. "While tablets continue to account for the largest share of mobile commerce, significantly, during December four in 10 m-retail sales were completed on a smartphone, compared with 28 percent penetration in December 2014."