As computing moves to the centre of the business world and retailers continue to adopt the latest technologies in an effort to keep up with the times, it seems that the transition is resulting in the sector losing out on millions of pounds each year due to illegal online activity.

According to the British Retail Consortium's (BRC) first e-crime study, criminals operating over the web cost Britain's retailers a total of £205.4 million in 2011-2012.

And with the most expensive form of e-crime being that of personal identification-related frauds, it seems that many firms will have been relying on their business insurance polices to recoup the losses that they have suffered.

"Online retailing has the potential for huge future commercial expansion but government and police need to take e-crime more seriously if the sector is to maximise its contribution to national economic growth," said British Retail Consortium director general Stephen Robertson.