Quirky gift retailer Octopus is to launch its first transactional website this summer in response to customer demand.

Octopus aims to achieve an online average transaction value of£20, compared with£18 in its stores.

The retailer estimates online purchases will account for 10 per cent of sales within three years and 80 per cent of its products will be sold online.

Marketing director Rupert Kenyon said: “We’ve never had a website before, we’ve always relied on strong products and customer service. But our customers asked us to get a website. We have a lot of French, Italian and Spanish visitors to our London stores, so we’ll see our business growing strongly in Europe with the website and it won’t cannibalise our UK business.”

The retailer, which eventually plans to have 30 stores in the UK and Republic of Ireland, is looking at two or three potential locations that could open before the end of the year.