Online Shopping Boosts UK Retail

Every household in the UK has had reason to tighten the budget over the last few years due to the recession. During pre-recession it was a time of excess where people spent beyond their means with no contingency plan for the future, but that is no longer the case. Now a budget has to be stuck to religiously in order to keep life to certain standards; meaning meals made from leftovers, fewer trips out and less expenditure on gifts and presents on special occasions.

In reality, we are living like people used to and taking advantage of special deals that allow us to live like years gone by. We still buy gifts for others, but nothing extravagant which has given birth to online shops offering great value gifts; especially in comparison to high street stores. Online shopping has boosted the UK retail sector more than many experts or the Government even predicted.
This year has seen a huge swing in spending from one month to the other, but May/June has seen a boom in sales driven by online shopping that point again to a rosier financial situation for growth. According to the very latest figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS), sales rose over two per cent from April to May, which saw national spending skyrocket to over £27 billion.

The biggest jumps were spiked by recent rise in the sale of food, clothing and household appliances online, but the consistent purchasing of gifts also had a huge impact. The biggest reasons for such an improvement is down to online retailers offering huge discounts on stock to help make it more appealing to everyday customers across the UK.

The online shopping market is experiencing a recovery with these figures greatly exceeding the growth figures expected of the UK this summer. An ONS spokesperson admitted that “feedback from retailers suggested that promotions on summer ranges led to this increase in sales”. It also led to a far more upbeat George Osbourne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who claimed the economy was “healing” and the British economy was at last out of “intensive care”.

Online shopping is a great way to bag a bargain on a range of items including food, clothes, but especially presents, such as , as low overheads enable retailers to offer gifts at a snip of high street stores. As trust in online shopping grows, sales will only get stronger and hopefully push the British economy into a healthier financial state.

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