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Rise in online Christmas shopping [Newcastle Journal (England)](Newcastle Journal (England) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) MORE Britons than ever did their Christmas shopping online in December as almost one in five non-food purchases were made on the internet. Web sales growth accelerated to 19.2% compared with the same month in 2012, the fastest rate for more than three years - while overall UK retail sales grew by just 0.4% on a like-for-like basis. The data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) survey carried out by KPMG showed online trade represented 18.6% of total nonfood sales in December, up from 16.5% the year before. BRC director general Helen Dickinson said: "More of us clicked into Christmas than ever before, with online non-food sales growth putting in its best performance since March 2010 and accounting for nearly 20% of spending. "The surge in the use of tablets and smartphones last year, together with the ever-faster delivery times achieved by an increasing number of retailers, has provided a new spur of growth to online shopping." (c) 2014 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] |