Nearly half of UK online merchants report Christmas sales growth

Almost 40% of online merchants operating in the UK reported an increase in sales in the run-up to Christmas despite the challenges posed by the poor weather during the months of November and December in 2010.

This is in direct contrast to the fact that more than 50% of brick and mortar retail businesses found it difficult to fulfil orders due to poor weather, according to a survey by SecureTrading.

The research has found that 50% of those businesses which reported an increase in sales had seen sales rise by almost a quarter on the same period in 2010.

Meanwhile, 28% businesses reported sales increases of up to 10 to 22%

A further 12.5% saw Christmas run-up sales rise between 26 and 50%.

Despite the additional challenges of poor customer confidence and difficulty in getting stock from suppliers due to poor weather, online merchants have risen to the challenge and delivered a speedy and convenient service on the whole - enough reason to conclude that online shopping and the emergence of mobile commerce will see further growth, the survey report said.

SecureTrading is a UK-based independent payment processor that represents small and medium eneterprises, and medium and large organisations across a variety of industries.