December online sales were lower than November, says IMRG
Two-thirds of UK shoppers spent more online this Christmas, bringing the total online sales total for December 2008 to £4.67 bn.
Two-thirds of UK shoppers spent more online this Christmas, bringing the total online sales total for December 2008 to £4.67 bn. That’s up 14.2% on December 2007 — but down 1.5% on November 2008.
The latest figures from the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index show that UK shoppers spent over £4.67 bn online in December, equivalent to £76.67 for every person in the UK and an increase of 14.2% on December 2007.
However, “monthly growth fell for the first time since December 2002 with consumers spending 1.5% less online than in November,” says IMRG. “This is attributed to record high sales in November, which saw higher than average yearly growth, and the timing of Christmas 2008 where the peak shopping weekend fell on 29th and 30th November.”
Capgemini, however, says its consumer research confirms shoppers are turning to the web to beat the credit crunch. “Whilst traditional factors such as researching the best prices online were reported by almost half (44.35%) of the 2,000 consumers surveyed, it is clear online retail is now part of mainstream shopping behaviour. A third of shoppers (37%) did more than half of their shopping online, with nearly two-thirds (59.9%) spending more online this Christmas than last year.”
Whilst some sectors saw substantial falls, there was good news for others. “Consumers looking to stock up on alcohol for Christmas celebrations turned to the internet for the best bargains, spending 13% more in December compared to November,” the researchers report.
“Gifts and electricals also saw a marked increase in sales for December — where shoppers spent 7% and 5% more respectively. Although clothing, footwear and accessories saw flat growth compared to November, shoppers spent 32% more compared to December 2007. In contrast, the lingerie and health and beauty sectors saw a decline in sales both month on month and year on year.”
Overall for the year, “the Index reveals that overall online spending in 2008 reached record levels for each individual month with November seeing the highest sales. However, the year on year in growth has fallen, showing that online is still experiencing growth but at a slowing rate. The latest figures show that the first week of December saw a slight decrease in online spending and this downturn sharpened week by week in run up to Christmas as the credit crunch began to bite. The fall in monthly growth is further accentuated as November saw particularly high online sales.”
