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Apple is the UK's second most popular online shop

Apple is behind only Amazon as the second most popular online shop in the UK. It's even ahead of Argos!

Joe Svetlik Reporter
Joe has been writing about consumer tech for nearly seven years now, but his liking for all things shiny goes back to the Gameboy he received aged eight (and that he still plays on at family gatherings, much to the annoyance of his parents). His pride and joy is an Infocus projector, whose 80-inch picture elevates movie nights to a whole new level.
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Joe Svetlik
2 min read

Apple is the second most popular online shop in the UK, according to website tracking company Experian Hitwise and IMRG, TUAW reports. It's behind Amazon.co.uk and one ahead of Argos.co.uk. And considering the high price of most Apple kit, that's pretty phenomenal.

Apple jumped six places to reach number two, seeing as it was eighth in July.

Experian Hitwise measured numbers between August and October -- during this period, Apple increased its hits five times. No doubt Steve Jobs' death and the launch of the iPhone 4S had something to do with it.

In October -- the month of both of these incidents -- Apple had 14 million hits in the UK. That's one for every 250 visits made by browsers in the UK.

Experian Hitwise marketing research analyst James Murray said in a statement that these two incidents played a big part in Apple's spike in traffic. "The tech world mourned the death of Steve Jobs this quarter but Apple goes on," he said, "and the launch of the iPhone 4S has helped push Apple to its highest ever ranking in the Hot Shops list."

And according to Experian Hitwise, the iPad is more popular as a present this Christmas, though the Kindle's low price could give it a leg-up. "Amazon UK and Apple are now the two biggest brands in online retail, and this Christmas they will go head to head in the gadget wars as the Amazon Kindle contends with the Apple iPad. Our data shows that iPad is the more popular gadget online but the Kindle's lower price point may entice shoppers this Christmas."

It's looking like a bumper start to 2012 for Apple too, with the iPad 3, iPhone 5 and redesigned, slimmer MacBook Pro all due in the first half. Roll on the new year.