We published the results of the Hitwise UK Online Performance Awards today. These list the 10 most visited websites in the UK during 2008 for over 60 industry categories. You can see the full list on the awards microsite, but here I thought I’d highlight the top sites in three categories that have experienced significant growth over the last 12 months.
First up: fashion. UK Internet traffic to our Shopping and Classifieds – Apparel and Accessories category increased by 17.7% between February 2008 and February 2009, and fashion retailers now account for 1 in every 10 visits to an online retailer. You can here me talking about the online fashion industry on BBC Radio 4′s Straight to the Top, but in the meantime here are the top 10 sites from 2008.

Next up: food. Back in October I wrote about the growth in traffic to out Food – Lifestyle and Reference category and the increase in recipe searches. Well, thanks to the current economic environment, traffic has continued increasing. Visits increased by 32.8% between February 2008 and February 2009. However, it’s not all bread and gruel: as Bill Tancer pointed out in column for the Times on Saturday, searches for posh afternoon teas are also up.

Finally: government. Partly as a result of the economic downturn, and partly because online services have improved, UK Internet traffic to Government websites increased by 13.3% between February 2008 and February 2009. I would expect this trend to continue during 2009, but in the meantime here is a list of the top 10 UK central government websites during 2008.

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