The high streets may still be gripped by recession, but "Etail" – or online retail – is turning out to be thriving in the current economic climate.

Online retail is set to account for £31.2 billion by 2013, accounting for 10 per cent of total retail spending. That’s according to a new survey from Verdict Research.

The online delivery service, Parcel2Go, has benefited from the trend. It sifts through more than a million parcel requests every year from etailers and individuals... and has found that people are sending creatively.

Along with snow, cannonballs and dragons are some of the bizarre descriptions people are entering on the website when filling in their form for parcel delivery.