High Street Retailers to lose billions to Web Sites

The latest news from PayPal and Datamonitor is that GBP18 billion of UK retail spending will shift from the high street to online retailers by 2010

The report, released today, predicts that the Internet will account for 6% of all spending on goods and services and there will be 25 million shoppers online in the next four years spending on average £48 per transaction.

Food and groceries top the anticipated growth list followed by clothing and footwear - this sector is expected to grow by 160% over the next four to five years.

Spending on electrical goods is already shifting heavily towards the web - witness Dixons plans to shut its high street stores and move everything online - and this sector is expected to be “one where substantial sums are likely to move away from the high street,” according to the report.