APACS, the UK payments association representing card companies, has released 2005 e-commerce figures, which reveal an increase in online spending at auction sites.

The figures show that 14 per cent of the 34 million adults who use the Internet (4.9 million) made their most recent purchase from an auction site in 2005. There were 79 million transactions over this period, and £2.8 billion was spent.

Looking at the wider e-commerce market, for the first time more than half of all adults made an online purchase during 2005 - 25 million or 52 per cent of all adults (and 74 per cent of internet users). This is an increase of 11 per cent of Internet users over 2004.

In addition to the increase in the number of adults spending online, the number of purchases being made is growing – the average number of purchases made by online shoppers in the year rose from 13.6 in 2004 to 18.5 in 2005. This was reflected in total online card spending figures, which were up from 262 million transactions in 2004 to 310 million in 2005. The value of these transactions increased from £16 billion in 2004 to £22 billion last year.

Unlike on the high street where credit cards represent just six per cent of payments, on the virtual high street credit cards are used much more regularly making up 49 per cent of all payments. About 13 per cent of all personal credit card spending is made online.

Sandra Quinn, director of communications at APACS, said: “The Internet is now very much part of mainstream culture in the UK, and for many people it is the first port of call when looking for certain items to buy. In 2005, for the first time, more than half of all adults made an online purchase, which demonstrates this increasingly important role the Internet is playing in the lives of UK consumers.

“However consumers must be alert to the threats posed by Internet criminals, and take steps to protect themselves when shopping online. Consumers should only ever buy online from a computer with up-to-date virus protection, and only shop at secure websites. We all need to be vigilant and be careful with our cards and personal details.”

Posted: 07|31|06 at 2:14 pm. Filed under: UK News.