Online sales for March of this year were up by 7.1% on March 2013 according to official figures by the Office for National Statistics. Ecommerce sales were found to be up by 1.4% on the previous month of February 2014 with figures pointing to an average spend of £680.3m each week, marking 10.7% of total retail spending.

Department stores reported the largest rise in online spending, with ecommerce growth recorded at 22.2% and 9.2% of sales being made online. Online spending was also up in the textile, clothing and footwear sector, rising by 4.4% and representing 10.5% of total sales.

Managing Director of VoucherCodes.couk, Claire Davenport, said:

“The increase in retail sales should not come as a surprise, but will certainly be welcomed by UK retailers. As demonstrated by the unexpectedly high growth in February, the market is continuing to recover as consumers enjoy improved pay and low interest rates. Online and mobile shopping options are continuing to drive growth in retail. Our own research shows that UK shoppers have a growing appetite for online offerings across all retail segments with 66.5% of the population now shopping online.”

Ranking Solutions, a company that regularly comments on news relating to internet marketing and online shopping, reacted positively to the figures.

Gareth Owen, Managing Director for Ranking Solutions, said:

“The growth comes as no surprise as online sales have been on a steep and steady incline for just about as long as we can remember. However, to see figures continue to rise relentlessly in this way is of course a huge positive and it will surely be welcomed by businesses that sell or offer services online.

“More and more people are now using the internet to do their shopping and many of these people are increasingly doing so on their mobile phones, enabling them to shop at any time of the day no matter where they are. With mobile use predicted to go up it’s likely that online sales in future will reflect that.”

Lancashire based Ranking Solutions is a digital marketing company with 15 years’ expertise in the sector. They offer search engine optimisation, social media management & marketing, responsive website development, pay per click, copywriting and other services. You can find out more about the services they offer and how the internet could benefit your business by visiting the Ranking Solutions website at www.rankingsolutions.com.

Contact Gareth Owen for quotes on 0800 195 3582 or info@rankingsolutions.com.