UK online retailers experienced a confidence-boosting July 2025, with e-commerce spending soaring to £10.7bn—a 7.2% year-on-year increase and a substantial 17.6% jump on the £9.1bn spent in June, according to new data from Adobe, powered by Adobe Analytics. July’s figures brought UK online spending for the year-to-date up to £62.1bn, up 2.6% YoY as consumers made the most of major sales events.
The uplift in spending was largely thanks to the four-day Prime Day event which saw shoppers spend £2.08bn across the ecommerce landscape over the sale period (up 11.1% YoY) as shoppers made the most of deep discounts. Across all retail categories, prices were 14% lower than normal levels, with apparel and TVs discounted by 18%. The first day of Prime Day (8th July) was the highest spending day of the year, with £676.5m spent.
The success of the Lionesses on the pitch also caused spending on England shirts to spike, as sales skyrocketed by 750% after the semi-final victory against Italy, and by 325% after the final when compared with normal levels.
“Major sales moments like Prime Day and Cyber Weekend always drive significant levels of spending as price-conscious shoppers take advantage of the time-limited big discounts on offer,” said Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe. “After a difficult few months, UK retailers will be hoping that July’s figures are the start of a strong second half and the return of a more confident consumer.”
July is 2025’s best month for online shopping as spending hits £10.7bn
- UK online spending totalled £10.7bn in July 2025, up 7.2% YoY.
- Total online spending for the year-to-date (January to July 2025) totals £62.1bn, up 2.6% YoY.
Online prices down 2.9% MoM and 11.9% YoY
- Prices across the e-commerce landscape were 2.9% lower in July 2025 compared to the previous month, and 11.9% lower compared with July 2024.
o Essential Categories:
- Grocery prices, down 1.8% compared to the previous month
- Personal care products, down 1.1%
- Pet products, down 2.4%
o Non-Essential Categories:
- Apparel, down 4.4%
- Electronics, down 3.7%
- Home and garden, down 2.4%
- Sporting goods, down 2.6%
Shoppers spend big over four-day Prime Day to make the most of discounts
- UK shoppers spent £2.08bn over the four-day Prime Day event (8th to 11th July), up 11.1% on the two-day Prime Day event in July 2024 and the following two days.
- A year-to-date record £676.5m was spent on Day 1 of Prime Day (8th July).
- Consumers spent big on smart home products, technology, kids apparel, and baby toys:
o Smart home items, up 98% compared to normal levels
o Computers, up 82%
o Kids apparel, up 76%
o Baby toys, up 72%
o Personal care appliances, up 58%
- On average, prices on Prime Day were 14% cheaper than normal levels, on par with Prime Day 2024. The largest price drops were in:
o Apparel, down 18%
o Televisions, down 18%
o Electronics, down 17%
o Home and garden, down 15%
o Personal care products, down 13%
Lionesses’ successes send shirt sales soaring
- Online sales of England shirts surged by 750% following the Lionesses’ semi-final victory over Italy compared with average daily levels over the previous 30 days (21st June – 21st July).
- This surge is 6% higher than the spike seen after the Lionesses’ World Cup semi-final victory in 2023 and shows how major cultural moments can drive significant uplift in online spending.
- Following the final online sales for England shirts surged by 325% compared with average daily levels.
Consumers’ use of AI for shopping continues to grow
- Referrals to retail sites from AI sources grew by 4% compared with June, contributing to 215% growth since the start of the year.
- Since August 2024, AI referrals have grown by 1200%.
The Adobe Digital Insights team uses Adobe Analytics to track hundreds-of-millions of transactions and visits to retail sites from UK consumers each month. Adobe also tracks the online prices of 100 million stock-keeping units (SKUs) across 18 product categories to provide the most comprehensive view of the UK digital economy and how people are spending money online.
