Online businesses saw sales soar during the Christmas period.
According to Retail Decisions, the payment card issuer, there was a 21 per cent increase in online business activity over Christmas.
Overall last year purchases made on the internet totalled £49.8 billion, with more than 33 million shoppers buying online.
White goods, such as washing machines and fridges, topped the product categories for sales by volume.
Carl Clump, chief executive of Retail Decisions, said: “In 2009, 30 per cent of online sales took place in November and December, underlining the importance of the holiday season to retailers.
“Necessities such as white goods for the kitchen took first place followed by laptops, widescreen TVs, digital cameras, games consoles, MP3 players and NetBooks.”
