Shopper sentiment was dampened in April as online clothing recorded its lowest ever growth.

The IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index recorded clothing sector growth of just 1%, the lowest in the 11 years the index has tracked the market.

Overall shoppers spent £5.7bn online in April equating to year-on-year growth of 10%, below the 13% average estimate for the whole year up against tough 2011 comparisons which included the Royal Wedding.

Sales through mobile devices grew 353%.

The conversion rate of shoppers browsing to purchasing for mobile commerce is improving at 1.3%, up from 0.8% last year, compared to 3.7% for online shopping.

The figure suggests that shoppers who would previously only browse mobile stores to check for bargains and compare prices are now actually also making purchases via the channel.

The launch of the iPad3 at the end of March played a very positive role in helping the electrical sector reach a year-on-year growth of 26%, the highest since August 2010.

Chris Webster, head of retail and technology at Capgemini, said: April was another month to maintain pace for online retail with sales growing 10% on the same month last year, despite the dampening effects of a wet and chilly weather.

“Consumers continue their steady march to migrate their purchases online which means that the high street suffers the brunt of a slackening economy. Mobile commerce continues to surge ahead as the latest shopping trend of customers on the go.”