LONDON (MNI)- Annual online retail sales growth will slow to 13%
this year, down from 14% in 2009 and way below the 25% surge in growth
seen in 2008, according to projections from the IMRG/Capgemini E-retail
sales index, released today.

The index showed internet sales rose 14% between January and
May this year, compared with the same period in 2009, with UK shoppers
spending an estimated stg21.8 billion online in that period.

The index shows online retailers that also have outlets on the
high-street outperformed their online-only counterparts, with annualised
internet sales up 24% on the year between January and May 2010.

In comparison, the report shows just 2% yearly growth for ‘pure
play online retailers’. This suggests a slowing in the growth rate of
the ‘non-store sales’ component of the official retail sales data.

The ONS reported non-store retail sales growth (a measurement of
sales for retailers such as Amazon, that only have an online presence)
of 12.2% for Q1 2010. The non-store component accounts for 4.2% of the
total sales number, with that weighting based on 2005 figures.

Commenting on the data, Tina Spooner, Director of Information at
IMRG largely blamed the recession for the slowdown in growth since 2008.

“I don’t think we’ll see that high level of growth again, the
online market has reached a level of maturity,” she added.

The official ONS retail sales data reports also include an
‘experimental’ internet sales data table, which showed internet sales
accounted for 7.4% of total retail sales values in May, up from 5.8% a
year ago. The ONS has not yet incorporated internet sales volumes into
is monthly data bulletin.

Unlike the non-store component, the experimental data includes
internet sales from companies that also have high-street outlets.

The overall official retail sales data, released on June 17,
showed sales volumes including auto fuel rose 0.6% on the month in May
and were up 2.2% on the year. The increase was well above the median
forecast for a rise of 0.1% on the month and just above the year-on-year
forecast for a rise of 2.1%.

— London newsroom: 00 44 20 7862 7491; email:wwilkes@marketnews.com

[TOPICS: MABDS$,MBPRS$]