British shoppers spent £5.58 billion online in July – five per cent up on the previous month, according to latest figures from the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index. They say the modest growth in online sales has been hampered by a poor performance in the online travel sector.

Figures revealed a slowdown in the performance of online sales, with year-on-year growth at its lowest level since January 2010. The slowing growth comes as better weather saw more shoppers hitting retail parks and the High Street.

The High Street reported a two and a half per cent month-on-month sales increase in July, helped by a food and clothing sales boost. Online, certain sectors did perform strongly such as Home & Garden, which increased 27 per cent year-on-year – this is compared with slow growth last year of only eight per cent.

The clothing sector saw a 25 per cent year-on-year rise as shoppers updated their wardrobes for the summer season and took advantage of the sales. However the electricals sector declined three per cent compared with the previous year, having grown 17 per cent year-on-year in July 2010.

Chris Webster, head of retail consulting and technology at Capgemini says: “The slowdown in July shows the internet is not immune in tough times. Successful retailers will need to expand into multi-channel and continue to improve customer experience throughout the online shopping processes.”

Tina Spooner, chief information officer at IMRG, adds: “With budgets being squeezed and disposable incomes shrinking, it is evident that consumers are making more considered purchases, especially on higher-ticket items, by researching across multiple online channels in order to make their money go further.”

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