Online spend to hit €21bn by 2017

Irish consumers are expected to be spending as much as €21bn on online purchases by 2017, with new estimates predicting a 40% annual increase in web-based transactions over the coming years as consumer habits change further.

Figures compiled by the Digital Hub Development Agency for the latest annual online retailing survey from industry representative body, Retail Ireland, suggests that the web-based retail market is currently worth €4.1bn, here, but is growing considerably every year.

The wider survey notes that as many as 84% of Irish retailers have a web presence, with 64% of them planning to upgrade that in the next year and a half.