The latest figures from the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index show that yearly UK ecommerce sales rose by 8.2 per cent in May, compared with 30.9 per cent in the same month last year.
More than £3.7 billion was spent on online purchases by UK consumers last month, down 3.5 per cent on April, the statistics reveal.
The slowdown can be attributed to higher than average temperatures affecting spending trends, as well as the ongoing effects of the economic downturn, IMRG and Capgemini say.
Despite this, the ecommerce sector is still performing relatively strongly in the UK, particularly as the overall retail sector saw much lower growth in May, according to Tina Spooner of IMRG.
She comments: "Consumers today are making very considered purchasing decisions, relying heavily on the internet to qualify their buying both online and in traditional stores."
To this end, ecommerce firms "will be the first to see 'green shoots' when the economy finally begins to stabilise", Spooner adds.
The index shows that accessories segment of the clothing sector saw particular high online growth of 69 per cent on an annual basis last month, as did electricals with 27.9 per cent and health and beauty at 26.3 per cent.
Verdict Research recently predicted that UK ecommerce sales will grow to account for ten per cent of all retail spending by 2013, equating to £31.2 billion of yearly online sales.
