Morrisons boss: 'Wish we'd launched online service sooner'

Morrisons boss admits: I wish we'd started online deliveries sooner

The chief executive of Morrisons has told ITV News' Business Editor Laura Kuenssberg of his surprise at the popularity of online deliveries - and admits his regret over not launching the service earlier:

Watch the Morrisons chief executive make the supermarket's first online delivery

Morrisons CEO Dalton Phillips has made the supermarket first online delivery in the Midlands.

Read more: 'More people than ever' did Christmas shopping online

Figures from the British Retail Consortium show how online sales in different types of goods fared:

• Online clothing sales accounted for 21.2% of sales in December - an increase of 3% from last year.
• Furniture and flooring products bought online represented nearly a third of all sales.
• Electrical goods and toys came in at 14.4%, a fall from November's 15.5%.

The drop in electrical goods sales was attributed to consumers searching early on the web for in-demand Christmas products to get hold of them before they went out of stock.

Read more: Online sales 'main driver for growth' in UK retail

Online sales have become the "main driver for growth" in British retail, after Christmas sales figures showed how popular an option shopping on the internet has become.

David McCorquodale, head of retail at KMPG which is behind the figures, explained:

"One in five" non-food items bought this Christmas were purchased online, in what turned out to be a bumper year for festive internet sales, new figures have revealed.

Read more: Prices slashed at fastest rate for seven years over Christmas

Data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) showed online trade represented 18.6% of total non-food sales in December, up from 16.5% the year before.

BRC director general Helen Dickinson said: "More of us clicked into Christmas than ever before, with online non-food sales growth putting in its best performance since March 2010 and accounting for nearly 20% of spending.

"The surge in the use of tablets and smartphones last year, together with the ever-faster delivery times achieved by an increasing number of retailers, has provided a new spur of growth to online shopping."

Read more: Supermarkets report sales falls in run up to Christmas