Keen Christmas shoppers in the UK boosted online retail sales during November and triggered yearly growth of 18 per cent.

This is according to the latest figures from the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index, which also revealed Brits spent around £8.4 billion via the web during this period, exceeding the £8 billion mark for the first time ever.

Sales in the health and beauty sectors saw the biggest increase of 82 per cent since October, while gifts - likely to include items such as chocolates and luxury hampers - experienced year-on-year growth of 38 per cent and 132 per cent month-on-month.

Chris Webster, head of retail consulting and technology at Capgemini, said ecommerce continues to be the growth engine of an otherwise struggling retail sector.

He added: "As online spending exceeds £8 billion in one month, we can see just how integral the online and mobile channels have become to the shopping experience."

This follows research conducted by communications regulator Ofcom that found UK consumers fork out over £1,000 every year on online goodies.