NEWS
Online shopping sales shot up to £8.2bn in the UK last year with consumers spending almost as much on the web as they do in high-street department stores, according to the latest figures.
The report from retail analyst Verdict Research found a 29 per cent rise in internet sales, from £6.4bn in 2004 to £8.2bn last year.
The figures put online shopping not far behind the £9.4bn spent by consumers through the cash tills of high-street department stores last year.
New figures released by the Royal Mail this week reveal 70 million items ordered online were delivered in the run-up to Christmas 2005 - a 40 per cent increase on the 55 million items ordered online in 2004.
