§ Mr. SpringTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of the world's e-commerce is estimated to be conducted in(a) Britain and (b) the European Union. [75729]
§ Mr. Timms[holding answer 23 October 2002]Reliable global e-commerce statistics that would allow a comparison between the UK and global levels of e-commerce value are not available.
E-commerce figures for the UK (excluding the financial sector) have just been released by ONS and show a good increase on previous figures:
There has been a 42 per cent. increase in online sales up from £12 billion in 2000 to £17 billion in 2001—according to the latest ONS e-business survey.Business to consumer last year was £6.1 billion, up 53 per cent.Business to Business last year was £10.9 billion up 36 per cent.We understand that Eurostat will be producing figures for the relative proportions of electronic commerce within the EU early next year.