Manufacturers and high street retailers that use promotional and peelable labels on their products appear to be fending off competition from the e-commerce sector.

According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), consumers in the UK are continuing to make use of physical stores, rather than solely relying on online shopping sites.

Indeed, the organisation said e-commerce still only accounts for a relatively small proportion of retail activity in the UK.

However, the BRC noted that the e-commerce sector is currently experiencing massive growth.

As a result, high street outlets could benefit from adopting strategies such as using promotional labels to keep attracting shoppers.

Sarah Cordey, spokeswoman for the BRC, commented: "What we're increasingly seeing is both stores and consumers making use of both online services and high street services."

The group recently reported that food sales held up during February 2011, although growing pressure on people's finances impacted on sales of clothing and household goods.

Denny Bros Ltd, 30 March 2011