Online retailers haven’t been the only businesses helped by a lockdown-fuelled boom in online shopping – publishers have also benefited.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics show internet sales made up 31% of total retail sales in December 2020, up 10% on the same month the year before. Total online retail sales for 2020 were up 46% on the previous year – the largest annual increase since 2008, according to the ONS.
When it comes to spending online, many of us now take to the internet to research the items we want to purchase before parting with our money.
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A survey carried out by Ipsos for Google between November 2019 and January 2020 found that, both in the UK and US, adults searched online before making 88% of in-store purchases. The study also found that just over half of shoppers (51%) research new brands on Google first before buying from them.