The survey has reported a full 12 months’ figures from April 2000, revealing for the first time the month by month patterns of market and sector sales. The IMRG Index has risen to 262 in April 2001 from 100 in April 2000. This 162% increase in e-retail sales compares with a 5.9% increase in general retail sales over the same time period. The IMRG estimates that the value of the total UK e-retail market in April 2001 was £210 million.

The number of participants contributing to the survey is increasing fast and presently includes Arcadia, Argos, Debenhams, Grattan, GUS, Iceland, Interflora, JD Williams, John Lewis, MFI Homeworks, Thomascook.com and Waitrose. The survey was originally initiated following a request for meaningful data from IMRG members. All interactive retail channels are included in the survey; Internet, interactive TV, m-commerce and others that may emerge. Initially only gross sales data is being collected but there are plans to move towards the collection and analysis of more detail such as actual numbers of transactions, average spend per visit for each sector and conversion rates.

According to James Roper, IMRG chief executive, "Until now the value of e-retail sales has been little more than a wild guess, and how can businesses invest efficiently if they don’t even know the size of the market? Data from the modest number of participants in the scheme to date clearly indicates that most previous estimates of the e-retail market value are substantially lower than its actual size."

For more information, visit www.imrg.org/survey.doc