Online shopping reached a new record for British retailers during the Christmas sales season, accounting for almost 20 percent of total retail sales compared with about 15 percent a year earlier.
Online shopping reached a new record for British retailers during the Christmas sales season, accounting for almost 20 percent of total retail sales compared with about 15 percent a year earlier.
Retail consultant Richard Hyman said based on official figures non-food online purchases accounted for nearly one-third of sales over Christmas.
“It was a record Christmas for online, there is no doubt about that,” he told The Financial Times. “Click and collect [ordering online and collecting from the physical store] made it a much bigger Christmas than it has ever been before. It allowed consumers to shop right up to the wire.”
Key findings from independent retail consultants and analyst include:
• Online accounted for almost 20% of shopping this Christmas
• Click and Collect played a role in this, now accounting for almost 30% of online sales
• Consumer trust in online has increased
• High-street mid-market retailers suffered a poor Christmas comparatively
David Rimmer, Chief Operating Officer at Rakuten’s Play.com, commented: “Shoppers are becoming more and more confident in making online purchases – but only if the retailer’s web offering is strong and secure. Trust for the brand is absolutely paramount, in fact our own research shows that almost 50% of consumers consider reliability to be most important when purchasing online. With trust trumping price for such a high level of consumers, retailers need to ensure they are building trust to profit from the growing ecommerce industry this year. Retailers can continue the record Christmas for online, but only with an offering that will deliver every time.”