Almost 10% of the UK’s total retail sales took place on the internet in September, according to new official figures.
The latest Retail Sales bulletin from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), said an average of £539.4m a week was spent on online purchases last month, 9.6% of total retail sales, excluding automotive fuel.
Last September, an average of £414.9m was spent online each week, the equivalent of 7.7% of total retail sales.
Looking to the high street, the figures showed total retail sales grew in value by 5.4% in September, compared to September last year, scarcely ahead of the 5.2% inflation figure unveiled earlier this week.
Meanwhile, the number of sales grew by just 0.6%, compared to the same time last year. Over the last three months, the number of sales shrank by 0.1% compared to the previous year.
Non-store sales, which include internet sales, rose by 15.5% in volume in September.
