According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), British retailers saw significant growth in search volumes from overseas. In the fourth quarter of 2016, there was a total increase of 23% of searches for the retailers, with an additional 16% increase on mobile devices in the UK. The figures signify the importance of the EU as a market for the economy and also suggests the continued necessity of e-commerce in order for companies to expand.  CEO of the BRC, Helen Dickinson also noted that, “the challenges and opportunity for UK retailers to capitalise on this rapid growth persist and British businesses remain focussed on tailoring their e-commerce offer to utilise the strength and popularity of UK retail beyond our own borders, which shows little sign of diminishing.”