The health and beauty sector is also expected to increase by 66.2 percent during the same time period.

EUROPE–The U.K. e-retail market is expected to increased 35 percent, reaching £68.8 billion by 2022, according to U.K. research and consulting firm GlobalData.

GlobalData’s findings are part of its latest report, E-Retail in the U.K. 2017-2022.

The firm also cites that clothing and footwear will be the biggest contributor to e-retail market’s growth, accounting for 70 percent of all online returns by 2022.

Furthermore, in the past year, 78 percent of the U.K. population has shopped online, with convenience and lower prices cited as the prime drivers.

“Our e-retail report shows online shopper penetration for 16-34 year olds above 90 percent affirming the importance of the online channel for younger consumers,” says Sofie Willmott, senior retail analyst, GlobalData. “Online pureplays including Amazon and ASOS continue to innovate introducing new technology and driving up consumer expectations of delivery and user experience, requiring multi-channel players to quickly follow suit to maintain their relevance.”

In addition, categories such as health and beauty as well as furniture and floorcoverings, which have traditionally experienced low online penetrations, are also expected to rise during the same period. For example, GlobalData predicts that health and beauty will rise by 66.2 percent over the next five years.

“Market leaders Boots and Superdrug are well placed to benefit from the shift to online, with strong brand and delivery lead time propositions in place,” says Willmott. “However, they remain under threat from online pureplays such as Lookfantastic.com and ASOS as well as the department stores which have rapidly improved their beauty propositions–making brands and exclusives far more accessible.”