U.K. online sales rack up 113% growth in October from year ago

Online retail sales are accelerating in the U.K., says the latest research from U.K.-based Interactive Media in Retail Group. Online sales in October grew 113% from October a year earlier and 21.5% from September to £860.5 million. Total retail sales in Britain grew 7.1% year-over-year.

October sales represent a nine-fold increase in online sales in the U.K. since the Interactive Media in Retail Group began tracking sales in April 2000. 14.3 million Britons shop online.

Apparel and accessories is a leading online category, accounting for £75 million in spending in October, up 132% over a year earlier and 32.5% higher than September.

The Interactive Media in Retail Group bases its numbers on results from 68 merchants who represent £200 million in October sales, nearly a fourth of the projected sales.

Online wine merchant Virgin Wines told the Interactive Media in Retail Group that sales have been surging in the past few months, with the company selling nearly 60,000 bottles of wine in a two-day period in September, an amount nearly equal to total sales in January of this year.