UK online retail sales up 18% in June
UK online retail sales were up 18% year-on-year (YoY) in June, according to the latest IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index. IMRG added that this was the highest recorded annual growth in 2015, equating to £9.3 billion spent online.
“With a 2.7% increase on May, the results also mark the strongest June month-on-month (MoM) growth since June 2003, reflecting the ongoing increase in UK consumer confidence,” said IMRG. “The total growth for H1 reached 11%, supported by a much improved second quarter of the year – the Index recorded an annual increase of 14% between April and June, double the growth experienced during January and March (7%).”
The Index was boosted by a strong performance in both the clothing and travel sectors.
The m-commerce sector (sales via a smartphone or tablet device) recorded a 57% increase on June 2014. Split by device, sales on smartphones far outweighed tablets, reporting a growth rate between January and June of over double that on tablet devices. Recent studies by Royal Mail and others have also shown that mobile has been the fast moving sector.
The Index also revealed the growing disparity between online-only and multichannel retailers (those with both an online and a physical presence). In June, growth for online-only sales reached just 13% YoY, compared to 21% for multichannel retailers.
The figures also demonstrated that delivery options can play a large part in capturing consumers’ interest.
Steve Hewett, Head of Retail Customer Engagement and Loyalty, Capgemini Consulting, commented: “I’m particularly interested to see the impact click and collect services have had on the performance of multichannel retailers compared to their online only counterparts. Capturing their customer’s delivery needs has helped build a stronger connection between retailer and consumer, which is ultimately being reflected at the cash register. It will be key for the online community to capitalise on the current consumer confidence and find a way to build the same level of connection.”
Tina Spooner, chief information officer, IMRG, added: “During the first quarter of this year we were speculating as to whether online retail was entering a new phase of lower growth rates – with Q1 up just 7% on the same period in 2014. However, in Q2 sales growth has jumped up to 14% on that recorded in Q2 2014 – which is all the more interesting as this period included a highly uncertain general election.
“June brought the strongest performance of the year so far, no doubt buoyed by the consistent summer weather which also saw the highest growth for the clothing sector so far in 2015.
“It may be that the slowdown we recorded during Q1 was a blip caused by a number of factors and actually consumer confidence has risen sufficiently to keep online sales growth at this higher rate throughout the summer period and moving into peak.”
