Broadband aids growth in online shopper sales

By the end of this year, more than half the UK population will have bought something online, according to IMRG, the industry body for e-tailing.

Online shopping will represent 7 per cent of all retail sales in the UK, accounting for nearly£2 billion a month, helped along by increasing broadband usage and better service from online retailers, IMRG predicts.

Leisurewear brand Cotton Traders expects online orders to account for 25 per cent of its business over the next couple of years, compared with 15 per cent at present. It has developed a new Web site that can process orders in just five clicks and now processes an average of more than 400 orders per day.