Online retail. More consumers are choosing to shop across a combination of channels, a trend that is being supported by the dramatic growth of smartphone and tablet ownership in the UK. Conlumino analyst Neil Saunders predicted in mid-2012 that online sales would grow 13% that year, against a retail market that was expected to shrink by c. 1%. M&S’ multi-channel strategy is already proving successful and, in FY13, multi-channel sales were up 16.6%. Traffic to the Group’s site continued to grow to an average of over 3.6 million weekly visitors