In 2004 consumers spent £62 Billion ($117 Billion) online Half of the British population shops on the internet and the latest estimation by TechWeb estimates that online consumer retail spending 'worldwide' grew by 26 percent over the $93.2 billion spent in 2003, ComScore Networks said. During the holiday shopping season alone, which includes November and December, consumers spent $23.6 billion, a 28 percent increase over the $18.3 billion spent the previous year.

BBC technology news reported that the internet 'e-commerce' was the fastest growing retail sector last year, attracting one in four shoppers.

A survey of 2,000 adult shoppers suggested the most popular goods for home delivery were books, music and videos, with 20% of those questioned having ordered such items.

The next most popular purchase was electrical goods - 19% - followed by clothing.