Anthony McGrathHome › Data for journalists › Ecommerce
EcommerceShare of adults in Great Britain who shopped online in the last 12 months, 2008 to 2020
The share of adults in Great Britain who had bought something online in the past year rose from 53% in 2008 to 87% in 2020. Over-65s saw the fastest catch-up, from 16% to 65%, with the biggest single jump in the pandemic year.
Key findings
- 87% of adults in Great Britain had shopped online in the past 12 months in 2020, up from 53% in 2008.
- Online shopping among over-65s quadrupled from 16% in 2008 to 65% in 2020, including an 11-point rise in 2020 alone.
- By 2019, 97% of 16 to 24 year olds had shopped online in the past year.
The data
| Year | All adults (%) | Aged 16 to 24 (%) | Aged 65 and over (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 53 | 65 | 16 |
| 2009 | 61 | 78 | 20 |
| 2010 | 62 | 74 | 22 |
| 2011 | 66 | 77 | 27 |
| 2012 | 67 | 79 | 32 |
| 2013 | 72 | 86 | 36 |
| 2014 | 74 | 83 | 40 |
| 2015 | 74 | 88 | 43 |
| 2016 | 77 | 89 | 45 |
| 2017 | 77 | 88 | 45 |
| 2018 | 78 | 95 | 48 |
| 2019 | 82 | 97 | 54 |
| 2020 | 87 | 96 | 65 |
Use this data
Free to use in articles, reports and presentations, with credit and a link to this page. Please also credit the original source.
Sources and method
- Office for National Statistics, Internet access: households and individuals reference tables, 2020 (Table 8, Shopping online by age group, within the last 12 months, 2008 to 2020 (published 7 August 2020))
Percentages taken directly from Table 8 of the ONS 2020 reference tables for all adults and for the 16 to 24 and 65+ age groups. Base is adults aged 16 and over in Great Britain.
Writing about this?
I have 22 years in Google Ads, Meta, tracking and ecommerce, and I am happy to give an expert comment or explain what the numbers mean for businesses.
Ask for a commentMore on ecommerce
Amazon advertising services revenue, 2019 to 2025
Amazon earned $68.6 billion from advertising services in 2025, more than five times the $12.6 billion it reported for 2019.
Online share of UK retail sales, 2010 to 2025
Internet sales made up 7.3% of all retail sales in Great Britain in 2010 and 27.5% in 2025.
Online shopping cart abandonment rates by study, 2015 to 2025
Baymard Institute's running list of 50 cart abandonment studies puts the average documented rate at 70.22%, meaning roughly seven in ten online baskets are left without a purchase.