New figures from IMRG prove that the popularity of safe shopping online is defying projections and skyrocketing at the moment, with a 22 per cent year-on-year uptick in e-commerce sales reported during the first seven days of April.

This follows on from a slightly higher rate of growth in the final week of March, which saw online shopping increase by 23.7 per cent compared with the same period in 2019, according to Internet Retailing.

Study spokesperson Matthew Walsh said that for most retailers across the UK the only way to get products into the hands of consumers was to sell them via the web, with bricks and mortar closures of all outlets deemed non-essential resulting in significant and swift changes to shopping habits.

Researchers also reported a 90 per cent rise in the sale of electronics items through online shopping sites, with consumers across the country either preparing themselves for further weeks of working from home or looking for ways to keep their families entertained while lockdown rolls on.

There was even a 70 per cent rise in gardening-related product sales, with the fine weather and the inability to spend leisure time in public spaces meaning that many more people have decided to go ahead with maintenance in their own outdoor areas.

Smartphone use was also more common as a means of carrying out safe shopping online, with a 50 per cent rise in this type of retail activity. On the flip side, tablets were actually far less popular for e-commerce transactions than this time last year, with people using them for 37.6 per cent fewer sales.

Meanwhile, the embattled high street continues to see complications associated with coronavirus restrictions, with 127 different retailers indicated to have shut specific outlets so far this month.