Net sales hit £100bn

The amount of money spent by British consumers shopping online has reached £100bn, new research reveals.

According to data from the Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG), UK internet sales of £3.465bn in April 2007 pushed total web sales to £100bn since 1995, the date of the first UK online shopping transaction.

Jo Evans, IMRG managing director, said: "This is an astonishing landmark. It's been obvious for a couple of decades that a secure, networked consumer marketplace would arrive and be popular, but actually witnessing its profound success and meteoric growth still takes my breath away.

"April's online sales were worth about the same in one month as London's West End takes in a year."

Internet sales last month rose 55% on the IMRG Index, the largest annual rise since December 2003 and higher than the average year-on-year growth rate of 32% recorded during the previous 12 month period.

IMRG said that the first ever secure web purchase took place on 11 August 1994, when the CD 'Ten Summoner's Tales' by Sting was bought in the US. The UK's first online shopping transaction was a book bought in April 1995 from WH Smith via CompuServe.