Hull poised to become online shopping capital of Britain this festive season

A study by Experian Hitwise found that more people in Hull per head of population are visiting retail websites than any other city in the country.

The findings, following analysis of a quarter of all domestic internet use in the UK – eight million households – predicts Hull will top the charts, while Doncaster is in fifth place. James Murray, a marketing research analyst at Experian Hitwise, said: “We are saying that the most number of visits are coming from people in Hull.

“There are obviously more internet users in London, Birmingham, Manchester and big cities like that, but what we are saying is per head of population, people in Hull are more likely on average to visit shopping sites online over Christmas.”

There are expected to be 2.1bn visits to online retail sites by UK consumers this month, who will spend 350m hours shopping online. Online bookseller Amazon has meanwhile named Doncaster in the top 10 most well-read towns in the UK.

It is the only northern town on the list, based on sales this year.

The Mayor of Doncaster Peter Davies, who recently confirmed library closures in the town, said: “I am delighted that Doncaster has made it into the top ten of reading hotspots within the UK.

“In a list dominated by southern towns and cities, Doncaster is leading the way.”