IMRG Capgemini: Online sales up 12% year-on-year in July

The latest figures from the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index have revealed that UK online retail sales were up 12% year-on-year (YoY) in July. Excluding travel, the Index recorded growth of 15%. Sales made via a mobile device, either a smartphones or tablet, saw a solid 42% annual growth.

With just 5% YoY growth, July saw the continued run of disappointing sales for the electrical sector, which is yet to see a double-digit increase in 2015. Between January and July, the sale of electrical goods has recorded just 3% YoY growth, compared with 15% during the same period last year. The garden sub-sector, which experienced a decline of 25% on the same period in 2014, has experienced a similar performance this year, reporting a drop in online sales each month since February 2015; a year-to-date decline of 14%.

In contrast, the clothing sector continued its positive run in July, recording YoY growth of 14%. Despite an uncertain start to the year, July marks the second consecutive month of double-digit growth for this sector in 2015 (18% YoY growth in June 2015). The accessories and footwear sub-sectors also performed particularly well in July.

At 5.1%, July featured the highest conversion rate so far recorded in 2015. Similarly, the average basket value (ABV) in July, the average amount spent on any one purchase, reached £78 – the only month since January not to record a decrease on the same period in 2014.

Tina Spooner, chief information officer, IMRG: “During the early part of the year we saw fairly unpredictable growth rates in e-retail, but higher conversion rates and lower average basket values have been consistent trends. However, while the percentage of online browsers converting to shoppers hit a high for the year in July, the average basket value remained unchanged from July 2014 – this follows five consecutive months of annual decline in average basket values. With the slow start to the year, it may be that retailers felt pressured into longer and deeper sales campaigns to stimulate activity, and that we are now in a summer season where shopping has ‘normalised’ to an extent before we enter the festive trading period.”

Alex Smith-Bingham, head of digital, consumer products and retail, Capgemini, commented: “The continued solid performance of the Index will be reassuring to the UK’s retailers, and is a clear reflection of the ongoing consumer confidence in the health of the economy. The decline in big-ticket items from the electrical sector will continue to leave its mark, but with the new iPhone 6S anticipated to launch in September, we could see a very significant boost before the end of the year.”

Source : IMRG
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