Tesco has become the fourth biggest online retailer in the country, behind Amazon, Dell and Argos, according to research by Interactive Media in Retail Group, the industry body for online retailers.

In a sign of the growing importance of the internet to traditional high street stores, the figures also showed that 10 per cent of retail spending now takes place over the internet, with online spending expected to reach £30bn this year, up from the £19.2bn last year.