Most significantly, for the period analysed, online merchants in Europe experienced a growth in turnover of 35 percent compared to 2012 (the comparative figure for growth in 2012 over 2011 only showed a growth of 16 percent) whilst the UK showed a decrease of 23 percent. At the same time basket values in the UK grew by 22 percent.

The research, drawn from payment service provider Computop's global Paygate payments network, which handles 91 million transactions per annum worth more than $8bn, also showed that within these figures some retail sectors where doing better than others. For example, the biggest winners in growth were merchants in the consumer electronics market, which showed 18 percent more orders and average basket values that increased by 89 percent. However, the fashion industry was far less successful, with the exception of the large brands which continue to grow sales, and showed an overall decrease in turnover by 8 percent compared to 2012.

Speaking about the findings, Ralf Gladis, CEO of Computop, said: "These figures are good news for online retailers in Europe - even in the UK, the increase in basket values possibly means that a surge in last-minute Christmas shopping can be expected as many retailers are predicting. The research also seems to suggest that the mood amongst consumers in Europe seems much more positive than in 2012, and reflects the more positive economic figures coming out of Europe this year. However, even in the weaker European economies, online sales for this Christmas are showing signs of growth over 2012. The interesting question will be to see whether the increasing online turnover in Europe this year is real growth or only a shift from mortar stores to buying online."

Computop provides compliant and secure e-commerce, point-of-sale, m-commerce and mail order and telephone order payments globally.

Source: Computop