Analysis of Companies House data by B2B PR agency, Definition, reveals that there were 44,191 new online retail businesses registered in the UK between January and December 2022. This is a 225% increase compared to the number registered in 2018.
The data further reveals that online retail leapt from ninth most popular category in 2019 to reach the top spot in 2020, replacing management consultancy.
Overall, 774,420 new companies were incorporated in 2022, which means online retail businesses constituted just over 5% of the total figure.
The number of new businesses registered last year across all types of retail was, on average, 63% higher than five years previously and constituted 13% of the total number of new companies (103,295 of 744,420).
Matthew Robinson, client services director, Definition, commented: “Perhaps unsurprisingly, 2020 stands out as a very significant year – with the number of new online retail businesses established being more than double that of the previous year. This alone seems to have contributed massively to new business activity at the height of the pandemic. It remains to date the most popular type of business venture – and it’s hard to see that changing any time soon.”
