Online retailers could outstrip the popularity of high street giants if current trends continue, a market analyst has said.

In an annual top 10 list of the favourite retailers in the UK, Amazon came a close second to supermarket chain Tesco, and eBay made it in at number 10.

Analyst TNS Worldpanel, which produced the league, said if the surge in internet shopping continues, online retailers would become more popular than established high street names.

Research manager for TNS Worldpanel Elaine Giles said: "It's clear from the trends that we're seeing that online retailers are increasing really rapidly in popularity. Amazon being the number two overall favourite retailer sets a precedent for other retailers to make the same move, and if the current trends continue we will see a lot more online retailers overtake more traditional high street retailers.

"A lot of the retailers who have suffered as a result of the recession have been traditional bricks and mortar retailers and those which have an offering online have fared a bit better."

eBay shot from 42nd place among Britons' favourite retailers in 2006, 15th in 2007 and 10th in 2008. Amazon was 21st three years ago, then fifth in 2007 and 2nd in 2008.

Internet shopping is particularly popular among younger men, with just over a fifth of men under 35 (22%) choosing Amazon as their favourite place to shop.

Online retailers performed particularly strongly in electrical goods and entertainment, but consumers preferred to stick to familiar names for groceries and clothing.

Ms Giles added: "The speed at which online retailers' popularity is rising is surprising, especially in light of the heavy discounting we've seen on the high street in recent months. But it does spell good news for old high street favourites such as Woolworths and Zavvi, both of whom are planning to re-launch as online brands."

TNS polled 15,000 people during the 52 weeks to January 4, 2009. The top 10 retailers from one to 10 were: Tesco, Amazon, Asda, Marks & Spencer, John Lewis, Argos, Sainsbury's, Debenhams, Morrisons, eBay.