online-spending

Increased petrol prices fuel online retail spend

2010 has been a momentous year so far - with Spain winning the prestigious FIFA World Cup, knowing that we will never need to watch Channel 4’s Big Brother ever again and petrol prices reaching an all time high of 120p a litre. In cash-strapped Britain - now being labelled as the “sick man of Europe” - petrol prices have hit consumers hard in the pocket. Ten years ago in 2000, the average price per litre (p) was 76.9 compared to 111.9 - which is a 68 per cent increase. Rather than jumping in a car and driving to the high street, local shops or retail parks for their weekly grocery shopping, online spending growth could reveal that consumers are instead jumping on the internet super highway. Comparing petrol prices and online spends, we can see a correlation between the rise in petrol prices to how much consumers are spending online. Looking at the figures, we can understand why: for example, if you’re driving a Ford Focus with a fuel consumption of 56.5 mpg and you have to drive 10 miles to the shops every week, that works out at