London: Online spending will rescue Britain’s retail sector from recession, with sales over the Internet set to more than double to £21.3 billion ($35.1 billion) by the end of 2011, a report said on Wednesday.
The study, by market researchers Experian, forecasts total retail sales will grow by just 0.2% from 2008 to 2011.
But while high street sales will fall by 1.4%, online sales will soar 137% and account for one in every £14 spent by 2012, said the report, which was commissioned by online payment service PayPal.
“The value of online retail can no longer be dismissed as a sideshow,” said Carl Scheible, managing director of PayPal UK.