It's Official: Stores are keeping their best promotions back for online shoppers The staggering shift in shopping patterns will fuel fears about the future for Britain's traditional high streetsm, with experts already predicting record levels will be spent online this Christmas. In September, Verdict Retail said online shopping was set to grow by 50 per cent over the next five years to be worth £50 billion by 2018. Then, Patrick O'Brien, lead analyst said: "Rather than push online spend outdoors, the rapid revolution of touch screen tablets and smartphones has moved online shopping into the living room. The ONS figures came as administrators at Blockbuster today revealed that 72 of its 264 stores will close, triggering 452 job cuts. Simon Thomas of Moorfields Corporate Recovery said: "This has not been an easy decision to make and we acknowledge that, with Christmas on the horizon, this will be extremely upsetting news to a large number of people. We must reiterate that, as part of our attempts to turnaround the business, today's decision is necessary if parts of Blockbuster are to be saved and a buyer found. More jobs are expected to go at Barratts Shoes, which fell into administration for the third time in four years last week. Nearly 30 per cent of all footwear sales across the retail sector are now made online.