Amazon continues its dominance of the UK's internet retailing market

The UK internet retailing market grew by 13% through 2012, to account for a total value of £30,766 million.

Internet retailing value growth slowed down in 2012. While the growth remains dynamic, the growth trend is slowing down due to the retail channel becoming more main stream. Most UK consumers feel confident making purchases through the internet therefore the actual consumer base is no longer growing at such a rapid pace.

Almost 80% of UK households had access to an internet-enabled computer in 2012. Overall, consumers actually using the internet for purchases instead of information searches tend to be younger and well-educated. The older generations of 60 and over continue to feel reluctant to make purchases via this channel.

Mobile commerce continues to drive growth within the UK's internet retailing market. A number of internet retailers have established m-commerce sites enabling them to sell their products from smartphone handsets. Tesco introduced an online shopping app in June 2011. The app enables Tesco customers to do their online shopping from their mobile handsets. Other retailers have followed suit, including Amazon.

Apparel internet retailing continued to be the largest category sold through the internet in 2012. Consumer lifestyles are becoming increasingly hectic providing the UK population with less time to actually visit physical retailers. As a result, internet retailing of apparel items is thriving and recorded value sales growth of 10% in 2012.

Amazon.com Inc continued to be the leading internet retailer in 2012 with a value share of 16%. Amazon continues to innovate its site and the use of third party sellers makes the retailer unique. Through the help of third party sellers, Amazon's product portfolio is almost limitless ranging from clothing and footwear products to food and drinks.

Significant growth in value share was recorded by ebay Inc in 2012. The retailer's business-to-consumer sales accounted for 8% of internet retailing value sales in the UK.

While the internet retailing channel remains dynamic, growth could be impacted by the economic situation in the country, especially if consumer confidence lowers further as this could have an impact on the performance of internet retailing. Some consumers are also concerned about the safety and security of the internet retailing channel, therefore any bad publicity could have an effect on the number of consumers using the internet for their purchases.

For more information on the UK internet retailing market, see the latest research: UK Internet Retailing Market

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