Britons spend more money online than any other major economy and per head spend around £2000 each year which exceeds the next two biggest spenders by quite a way.
Australians spend £1,356 per person a year online whilst Americans splash the cash at around £1,171 which mean Britain is spending more than £600 more per person, per year online making them the nation of biggest online shoppers.
Due to the fact that nearly 8 out of ten households have access to high speed broadband internet and has a culture more comfortable with using credit cards is it perhaps worthwhile considering setting up online if wanting to open a business in Britain?
A record 40% of advertising is spent online in Britain and with online supermarket Ocado recently passing £1 billion in sales it is perhaps no surprise that such large sums are poured into attracting the internet customer in the United Kingdom.
The rise of the internet entrepreneur has been game changing for the UK’s retail market as stores have been forced to compete with cheaper online competition with cuts in business rates and falling prices. This, by no means, seems to be the end of the high street though as a curious pattern of hybrid shopping seems to be emerging.
There is a trend now where consumers will browse online and then make their final purchase in store after checking the item out physically or vice versa which has led to more innovation both in physical retail as well as online shopping which has meant a fall in the number of physical retail positions but a rise in those on the technology side. Interestingly, according to the agencies promoting London, over a quarter of jobs created since the recession are in the technology and digital sector.
This has partially come about because of London’s initiative to get a high-tech cluster going in its Silicon Roundabout area which is certainly having some success as we’ve seen double-digit growth in new business start-ups targeted by the capital’s investment in technology. It’s perhaps because of this sort of growth that London attracts one fifth of Europe’s tech investments.
Britain has already seen two of its busiest shopping days over the year already affected by this boom in online retailers as high street stores saw an 11% drop from the previous year on Black Friday whilst Cyber Monday stood to break all records. Traditionally though, these two days are seen as a much more American event and it is Boxing day that remains a huge day for British shoppers and it will be then that we truly see how the online shop has affected the British market.
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