Online sales increased by 22% in May compared to last year in the highest growth since June 2008, according to results from the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index.
Shoppers spent £4.5bn online during the month, equivalent to £73 for every person in the UK, with sales boosted by warm weather and the bank holiday weekends.

Home and garden saw a massive 41% increase year-on year, while sales of electrical goods also jumped by 13%.

Total online sales in May were also up on the month before, rising 3% compared with April 2010, with home and garden up 7% for the period and electrical sales up 8%.

IMRG director of information Tina Spooner said: "With online sales growing at their highest rate in almost two years, this is good news for the e-retail industry. The fine weather in late May, together with the build up for the World Cup appears to have had a positive impact for e-retailers."

She continued: "Year to date, the UK e-retail market has grown 14%, which is in line with our predictions for this year. With recent research suggesting that over half of consumers believe the economy is now recovering from the recession, it is evident that e-retailers have already started to benefit from an increase in consumer spending."

Growth in sales for retailers with a high street offering as well as an online presence continues to outstrip that of online only retailers, said the report. Multi-channel retailers witnessed growth of 30% compared to last year, while online only retailers showed year-on-year like-for-like growth of 11%.

UK managing director of Shopping.com Iain Wilson said: "With the good weather, and a long summer of football ahead, it's not a surprise that despite continuing gloomy forecasts in the financial market, people are spending more. Staying in is the new going out, so people are willing to spend - on garden furniture, new BBQs, bigger TVs and plenty of food and drink to ensure they have a great time, resulting in overall growth month on month for many businesses."