Online retail and travel sales to hit 56bn by 2014

Online UK retail and travel sales are expected to increase to £56bn by 2014, according to Forrester Research.

The research house expects online sales to grow by 6% per year from its current level of £37bn as consumer spending continues to shift online.

According to the research, which is due out later today, fashion was the fastest growing area of online retail during 2008. Books, DVDs and travel were the most frequently bought items over the period.

The Forrester research, which places the UK’s online spend ahead of its French and German counterparts, expects the number of online UK shoppers to grow from 30m this year to 37m by 2014.

In January the first new media age online shopping survey revealed 36% of people plan to do more shopping online and less on the high street this year to look for savings.

This story first appeared on newmediaage.co.uk