Online shopping has grown to such an extent that for the first time it now accounts for almost one third of household purchases, apart from groceries.

One in three home appliances, items of clothing and furniture are bought using the internet, according to research by the British Retail Consortium.

Overall, more than £1 in every £5 of all non-food spending is now being done online.

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Pizzas could soon carry the government 5 a day logo under plans considered by Public Health England

The latest growth, a 12 per cent rise on last year, was revealed in statistics for last month, including Black Friday – November 28 – when £810million was spent online in a single day.

The astonishing demand left many websites unable to cope, with the result that shoppers suffered ‘screen freeze’ and some retailers are still struggling to make deliveries.

Customers at Marks & Spencer face a wait of ten days to get their purchases, while Tesco has suffered delays in its click-and-collect service, and the online fashion chain ASOS has suspended a large part of its next day delivery system.

Further pressure was put on delivery services yesterday with websites expecting a further shopping binge on what is known in the industry as ‘Manic Monday’.

The deals offered online by specialist web stores such as Amazon as well as high street giants including Tesco, Asda, M&S, John Lewis, Currys PC World and the big department stores have triggered an unprecedented spending splurge.

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The £810million figure for internet sales on Black Friday was almost 50 per cent higher than expected by the industry. The BRC director general, Helen Dickinson, said: ‘This month brings fantastic news for retailers who have worked hard on their online presence, as the online penetration rate of non-food sales is at an all-time record.

‘Every £1 in £5 of non-food purchases is spent online. Online sales are also contributing a larger proportion of growth to non-food sales compared to in-store.

‘Black Friday was the retail event of the month and retailers offered consumers impressive discounts both online and in-store. The high volume traffic to websites meant that consumers also bought a large amount of full priced items and not just those on sale.

‘Online sales growth was good for the month but there may have been a distortion caused by Black Friday with consumers delaying purchases until the end of the month in the hope of grabbing some bargains.’

The BRC ranks retail sectors in terms of their annual growth. Health and beauty products saw the biggest increase in sales, ahead of household appliances, particularly flat screen TVs.

The BRC said: ‘There were widespread discounts for Black Friday, with particularly aggressive deals among fashion retailers, who used the opportunity to lower their stocks after the unseasonably warm autumn quarter we’ve just seen.

A panel of experts from Public Health England (PHE) has discussed the idea of expanding the logo to include 'composite' foods, which contain at least one portion of fruit and vegetables

‘Household appliances – for its first appearance in the monitor – moved straight to second position and finished the month on a very strong note, thanks to Black Friday.’

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David McCorquodale, the head of retail at KPMG, said: ‘Online orders reached record breaking penetration levels this November, as shoppers snapped up a bargain in the Black Friday sales.

‘However, retailers’ online systems have been tested and some have been found wanting.

‘The sheer weight of consumer demand caused some websites to buckle under the pressure and these retailers need to sort this capacity issue out and quickly or face losing sales to competitors with more robust systems.

‘Online sales will help to drive growth for retailers this Christmas and are a crucial element of their overall strategy.’