Consumers are turning to their debit and credit cards more often to make small purchases amid the growth of online shopping and contactless payments, the cards industry's trade body has reported.

The typical value of a purchase made by debit card payment was £43.70 in June, which is is 96 pence less than it was 12 months earlier, according to data from the UK Cards Association.

Meanwhile, the average value of a payment made by credit card has fallen by £2.71 year-on-year to reach £60.13.

The association said that the volume of purchases using cards is on the increase. The number of purchases grew 9.2% year-on-year in June, lifting to 993 million in total across the month.

But because cards are increasingly being used for low value purchases, the overall value of spending on debit and credit cards has increased more slowly than the volume, recording annual growth of 7.2% and reaching £47.0 billion in June.

Three quarters (74%) of Britons now shop online, up from just over half (53%) in 2008, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported last week, with clothing and sports goods found to be the most common internet purchases.

This month has also marked 20 years since the album Ten Summoner's Tales by Sting became the first item to be sold as a "secure purchase" online.

The use of contactless payments has also increased sharply in recent months. The UK Cards Association said the number of monthly contactless transactions has more than tripled in the last year, with consumers spending £146.1 million using their contactless cards in May 2014.

Contactless technology allows people to pay for items worth up to £20 by swiping their card on a reader, which usually means they do not have to enter their PIN number. The average "tap and go" contactless transaction has a value of £6.60, the association said.

Richard Koch, head of policy at the UK Cards Association, said: "We've seen the average value of a card transaction drop over the last year as consumers increasingly choose to use their cards to pay for smaller purchases.

"In the retail sector, the average shop is now less than £34 - an increase in small transactions online and the use of contactless cards for lower, everyday sums is partly behind this significant trend."