'Growth surge' for UK's online retail sector

A new report claims that the online retail sector in Britain will be the only one to post growth before 2012.

The research, conducted for PayPal by Experian, reveals that online retail sales in the UK will grow by up to 137 per cent by the end of 2011.

Such growth could amount to £12.3 billion and would push the value of annual online retail sales to £21.3 billion, from just under £9 billion.

Businesses which want to take advantage of this growth may have researched different reliable web hosting firms to ensure their IT infrastructure is well prepared for an increase in traffic.

Indeed, the launch of Oasis singer Liam Gallagher's new online fashion website suffered a hitch when it crashed within minutes after 100,000 people jammed it.

Commenting on the future success of the online retail sector, Carl Scheible, managing director of PayPal UK, said: "The improvements in online shopping will continue to drive consumers until they are spending one in every £14 online."

Written by Tim Dunton