Top 50 e-tailers reveal climbers and fallers
The latest Top 50 e-Retailers report from IMRG and Experian Hitwise sees no change in the top 2 (Amazon and Argos leading the way) but there are a few changes in rank and one new entry into the top 10. With the summer upon us it was travel sites who improved most over the last quarter with each of the major travel brands (including Thomson in 10th position) making a rise compared to May 2011 rankings and the sector making up 1 in 5 of the top 50. Yet, while getting away was popular so was just getting out. Both Odeon (37th) and Vue (44th) returned to the top 50 after a short stint outside. Interestingly, home entertainment-type retailers (other than Amazon) were amongst the hardest hit by the season, with sites like Play.com, HMV and Game all dropping in the rankings. So the figures perhaps reflect more seasonal changes than specific trends in online buying but of note are some new names making big impressions on the e-commerce sector. The online offering from fashion-retailer Next overtook Tesco in this last quarter and in July alone accounted for 1 in ever 11 visits for online fashion. In the same sector Matalan is making massive inroads too, having quadrupled traffic to its site over the past three years to record levels last month that lifted it to 40th spot. Year on year the biggest risers have been House of Fraser (up 20 places), Sainsbury’s and Ikea (both up 12 spots). Interestingly,in the multi-channel era, online only offerings such as Amazon UK (1st), Play.com (6th), Expedia (14th) and ASOS (19th) continue to compete strongly alongside big high-street brands who have moved online. Thinking of starting your own online offering? Our eshop range come with options for every size of venture and with a drag and drop interface are easy to get to grips with and get online with. Compare the range here.
Ecommerce still growing
This month’s figures from the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index reveal that online shopping just gets stronger and stronger. £5.3 billion was spent online during May according to the report which is a year-on-year increase of 18% and up 2% on an already impressive April. However, with economic times pinching it appears big money purchases, which helped fuel the original trend for online buying, are not doing as well as so called ‘low-ticket’ items sales of which are booming. As people’s social trends change due to economic pressures so different sectors seem to be benefiting from online sales. Stay at home entertainment is growing with the alcohol sector growing to an average order reaching £161, which is up a massive 25% on May 2010. Staying-in every night also makes people want to make the most of when they do leave the house so it is no surprise then to find the average travel spend online soaring to £869 a year. To date, £25.7 billion has been spent online during 2011. That is in stark contrast to figures released by the British Retail Consortium earlier this month, which showed that, despite a surge for the Royal Wedding and Easter holidays, high street sales were down 0.3% year-on-year and down 2.1% on April 2011. Are you spending more online? Are you selling online? Our Eshop range offers everything you need to be selling online via a professional looking shop with a few clicks and our InstantSite Pro and SiteFusion offerings have ecommerce functionality that is simple to set up too.
Warm weather no barrier to e-commerce
The latest figures from the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index suggest that mobile technology and the desire simply to shop more online means even hotter days and more time outside didn’t stall the growth of e-commerce in April this year. With the Royal Wedding, a bumper-pack of bank holidays and plenty of sunshine, there was plenty to keep UK shoppers happy and they responded by spending £5.2 billion online – up 19% on April 2010 and equivalent to £84 per person. The hottest April since 1910 saw many parties and barbecues leading to alcohol sales seeing the most significant growth – 55% year-on-year. Clothes too with sales up 32% on 2010 and 8% on March 2011. Unsurprisingly, home and garden spends were also up 14% year-on-year and 11% month-on-month. However, with the home-based fun came a decline in one sector. Travel saw an 8% drop from March and a lowly 1% increase in online sales compared to April last year. Did you spend more online in April?
Transacting online – almost a way of life
The latest IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index report out last week showed that the number of online transactions continues to rise as more and more people accept it as the quickest and easiest way of doing business. The report revealed a spend of £5.1 billion during January in total equating to a year-on-year increase of 21% Unsurprisingly, in the dark weeks of the opening month of the year, there was much interest in people making future travel plans. A year-on-year increase of 31% for the travel sector and a massive 173% increase on December 2010 meant more and more people surfing and clicking to sunnier climes. Interestingly, despite the economic times, the average basket value for travel sector transactions was also at its highest (£886) since the launch of monitoring of the sector in December 2008. If going away was popular in the January spends, home was too. There was impressive growth too in the home and garden sector, after five months of annual decline. Up 56% year-on-year an average basket spend of £120 perhaps reflected the expected early spring after December’s snow. It seems 2011 could be a much healthier year too. Alcohol sales in January declined by 67% after some strong Christmas spending. You can read the full report here. Are you spending more online? Are you noticing customers putting more faith in online transactions?
What economic crunch?
A new report from business advisory firm Deloitte, predicts that despite the economic position of many, retail spending in the UK will increase by 1% year on year this Christmas. Retail sales are expected to top £37 billion this December but 2011 is set to be a more difficult time as disposable income takes a hit. 20,000 consumers were surveyed across Europe, 2,000 in the UK where 71% reported that they plan to spend the same or more on Christmas gifts this year. 76% have a similar approach to their festive food and drink spending this year while an even bigger percentage (79%) intend to spend similar or more on their entertainment and leisure spending this Christmas. 2011 however looks a bleaker picture. The rise of VAT to 20% is expected to have an impact as will the rise for some in National Insurance, leaving less disposable income. A third of those surveyed expected their financial position to get worse next year, including the impact of the Government’s spending review. According to Retail Week, the figures come from a survey that found that 71 per cent of respondents intended to spend more on gifts, while 79 per cent intended to spend more on entertainment and leisure. “Each year, consumers tell us they will do whatever they can to enjoy Christmas and this year will be no different,” said Deloitte’s UK head of retail, Ian Geddes. However, the rosy forecast is not expected to continue in to 2011, where Deloitte expects that the industry will not see any growth over the course of the year. This is reflected in the survey, which sees 38 per cent of respondents forecasting the economy to deteriorate. Interestingly, other recent reports have suggested that online purchases continue to rise – perhaps as consumers look to make the best savings possible. So now might be the perfect time to be getting your own online shop up and running. Check out our ecommerce offerings or consider the eshop function with InstantSite Pro. Are you cutting your personal spending this Christmas?