The Great British Bake Off is one of the most influential television programmes when it comes to viewers shopping online, eBay said.

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The hit show is thought to have inspired a sharp rise in shoppers clicking on baking product listings when it returned for a seventh season, the auction site found.

The data is part of eBay's first ever UK Retail Report, released to mark the online auction house's 21st birthday.

Birmingham-based gangster drama Peaky Blinders also appeared to have an influence on shopping habits, the report suggested, with sales of flat caps tripling after the season three premiere earlier this year.

Game of Thrones and the Olympic Games were also thought to be triggers for so-called dual-screen shopping, where viewers surf the net while watching television.

EBay said it analysed user activity minute-by-minute on various devices both during live programming and in the weeks following box set releases.

Since its launch in 1995 eBay has gained 164 million active buyers and one billion listings worldwide.

Murray Lambell, director of UK trading at eBay, said the site had built itself on the theory of supply and demand.

"Over eBay's lifetime, technology and connectivity have accelerated our pace of life and opened up the world around us. We now have information at our fingertips, supercomputers in our pockets, and are part of a global community that's always open for business.

"In Britain, consumers are among the savviest in the world. They're always on the hunt for great value, quality and a price that suits them, and they are willing to shop around for the best deal.

"This simple story of supply and demand has built eBay in to an incredibly vibrant marketplace, where Brits love to shop."