MC retailers shine as online booms

UK online retail sales were up 18 per cent in June, with the clothing and travel sectors performing particularly strongly, according to the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index. This is the highest recorded annual growth in 2015 and equates to £9.3 billion spent online.

With a 2.7 per cent increase on May, the results also mark the strongest June month-on-month growth since June 2003. The total growth for H1 reached 11 per cent, supported by a much improved second quarter of the year – the Index recorded an annual increase of 14 per cent between April and June, double the that experienced during January and March. Sales of clothing in June reached a YoY increase of 18 per cent – its highest rate since November 2014. The travel sector, which has performed consistently well throughout 2015, was up 25 per cent - its highest growth this year, and its third highest annual growth since the Index began recording travel in December 2009.

M-commerce saw a 57 per cent 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. The Index also reveals the increasing disparity between online-only and multi-channel retailers. In June, growth for online-only sales reached just 13 per cent YoY, compared to 21 per cent for multi-channel retailers.

Steve Hewett, head of retail customer engagement and loyalty, Capgemini Consulting, says: “The significant growth in the market will be very reassuring to UK retailers who have thus far experienced a fairly turbulent 2015. With a relatively settled post-election economy, consumer confidence should remain high and we can look forward to a solid H2. I’m particularly interested to see the impact Click and Collect services have had on the performance of multi-channel retailers compared to their online only counterparts. Capturing their customers' 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.”

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