£154 Billion Spent on Online Shopping Last Year

£154 Billion Spent on Online Shopping Last Year

When it comes to shopping online, us Brits are known for our love of avoiding the high street and hitting the internet, instead. However, you might be stunned to realise collectively, how much we spend online each year.

According to new research from The UK Cards Association, internet shopping has seen a boost of almost 25% since 2014, with the numbers expected to grow even further in years to come.

£154 billion was the overall total that we spent online in 2016. From holidays and clothes to new cars; you’ll struggle to find any item that you can’t purchase on the internet.

Throughout any given day, us Brits spend an astonishing £422 million, with benefits such as cashback and exclusive credit card offers always being there to spur us on.

When it comes to comparing the British shopping culture with our International neighbours, it’ll probably come as no surprise that the UK spend more cash online per household than any other country included in the survey:

  • Norway – $5,400 USD
  • USA – $4,500 USD
  • Australia – $4,000 USD

Accounting for a huge portion (26%) for all of the purchases we made online were for entertainment items such as TV subscriptions, food takeaways and cinema tickets.

Of all concert tickets sold throughout the same time period, 67% of those were purchased online.

The research has shown that nearly 37% of all money spent on holidays was generated online, with 54% of flights being made through the internet.

Richard Kock, a spokesman for The UK Cards Association, commented:

“Since the early days of internet shopping, there has been a host of innovations, from digital wallets to one-click purchases, which bring enhanced security, choice and convenience for customers and which will lead to continued growth in the sector. The additional protection provided when using a card also gives consumers extra peace of mind when they are shopping online.”