Statistics published by the British Retail Consortium show that the majority of sales made in the UK last month were carried out via safe shopping online, representing the first time that e-commerce activity has outstripped in-store spending.

Internet Retailing reports that with 50.7 per cent of sales conducted through shopping websites in June, this turning point was significant for a number of reasons, not least because it represented a two-year growth peak for this segment of the industry.

The sale of non-food items through e-commerce sites was up by 48.2 per cent in June year on year, while like-for-like sales were up by 10.9 per cent across retail as a whole, showing that consumer confidence was returning to a degree after the lockdown measures were eased.

Study spokesperson Helen Dickinson said that growth in retail spending was a positive sign, and even with growing footfall at bricks and mortar outlets it was clear that online shopping was continuing to enjoy a period of rapid expansion.

She also pointed out that shoppers were spending more on average for each transaction in June, likely making up for the fact that they had been holding back over the previous quarter in response to the pandemic.

Dickinson singled out a number of product categories as being especially sought after in June, with products aimed at helping consumers with DIY around the home earning a lot of attention, while furniture sales were also higher than usual and tech purchases continued to do well.

At the other end of the scale, fashion brands continued to struggle in June, with health and beauty products also failing to recover from their dip in appeal brought about by the lockdown and the fact that millions of people are still working from home rather than at the office.