Online spending fuelled by catalogues

Catalogues are firing up an online shopping boom, Royal Mail research claims.

Three-fifths of UK shoppers turned to a catalogue before making an online purchase, with the average consumer spending £609 on goods online so far this year.

A spokesman for the Post Office said when the internet first started people predicted the end of catalogues. But now they are seen as a marketing tool to promote a company's website, rather than a sales channel.

The spokesman said this trend has been seen over the past couple of years, with 'mini-catalogues' becoming a popular way to promote a website and remind the customer to start clicking.

The surge in online spending could be attributed to increased uptake in broadband, with more than 25 per cent of people in the North West currently connected to high-speed internet services, the research suggests.

The Scots are the biggest UK online spenders, with an average online splurge of £701 per year but the more thrifty South West consumer spends an average of £549.

According to the research, which surveyed 4,000 people, the most popular online purchases in the UK are music products and downloadable tracks, with clothing being named as the most popular item to buy from a catalogue.