The latest figures from the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail sales index have been released, providing an overview of the Christmas period and 2009 as a whole.

UK shoppers spent £5.46 billion online in December, 17 per cent up on December 2008. Sales rose by 3.8 per cent compared to November 2009. The peak for online Christmas shopping was the second week in December. This was one week later than in 2008, as a combination of November postal strikes, shoppers holding out for bargains, increased confidence in delivery services and Christmas falling on a Friday delayed the annual spending spree.

Year-on-year growth was at an average of 14 per cent. In September, the growth rate of 7.6 per cent was the lowest year-on-year growth rate in the history of the Index, perhaps attributed to warm weather and postal strikes. Clothing mirrored the overall market throughout the year - this sector has driven the overall Index in 2009. Accessories, gifts, health and electricals performed less well throughout the year, but peaked in November and December.

"Once again, consumers have turned to the internet to do their Christmas shopping, with 17 per cent growth year on year this December. An interesting shift during this festive period is the strength of the month-on-month performance for multi-channel retailers (up 13 per cent) versus their pure play competitors (down eight per cent). This shows both the high value consumers place on a multi-channel proposition, particularly when it comes to gift returns, and the trust advantage our High Street brands have if they can get their online proposition right," says Jon Parry, principal retail consultant at Capgemini. "A key trend highlighted by our Index analysis is the 25 per cent drop in conversion rates from 2008 to 2009. This is a clear reflection of the increased traffic using the internet as a source of product information and recreation, accelerated by the increase in retail content on social network sites such as Facebook. This highlights the significant opportunity on the table for retailers to enhance their online customer experience."

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