Strongest online January since 2009

Online sales of non-food products in the UK grew 19.2 percent in January versus a year earlier, in January 2013, they had increased by 13.5 percent over the previous year.

In January, online sales represented 17.4 percent of total non-food sales of our monitor, against 16.3 percent in January 2013. January online growth was the strongest since January 2009.

Online sales contributed 1.2 percentage points to the growth of non-food total sales. In the last three months, the contribution averaged 1.8 percentage points – almost one third of the total non-food growth.

Helen Dickinson, Director General of the British Retail Consortium, says embracing omnichannel sales has been a big driver of business for UK retailers: “We’ve seen an ever-more discerning customer taking good advantage of click and collect and other innovative services. The combination of an online presence with a bricks and mortar offering is becoming increasingly compelling.

“There’s no doubt that online is driving structural change within the sector and retailers will continue to invest heavily to provide the seamless experience between channels that today’s shoppers demand. Our figures showed that 17.4 percent of all non-food spending is online and we’re expecting this number to continue to rise as operations become more efficient, collections more convenient, deliveries faster and technology more integrated.”

David McCorquodale, Head of Retail at KPMG, says many retailers are investing heavily in analytics and supply chain fulfilment to drive personalisation of offer to the consumer and differentiate themselves from competitors through delivery performance: “As online growth drives about a third of non-food sales expansion, retailers are doing all they can to fully embrace the growth prospects offered.”