Online retail continues upward trajectory in April

UK online retail sales in April were up 18.8% year-on-year, the highest YoY increase since November 2016, according to the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index. 
 
There was, however, a fall in the overall market conversion rate (down 4.15% from 4.3% YoY) marking the fifth consecutive decline this year. IMRG and Capgemini attribute this to the increasing penetration of sales made through smartphones, which have lower conversion rates generally. Meanwhile average basket values (ABV) increased – jumping £14 (month-on-month) to £117.12 for multi-channel retailers, and by £3.5 to £87.16 for online-only.
 
“Growth in online retail sales revenue has been markedly higher than expected throughout 2018 so far. One reason is likely to be related to a turnaround in economic fortunes – while inflation outstripped wage growth for most of 2017, the gap has closed in recent months and wage growth was actually higher than inflation in March 2018. This means that, on the whole, UK shoppers should be feeling a bit more confident in making purchases,” says Andy Mulcahy, Strategy and Insight Director, IMRG.
 
He adds: “As shoppers have started to find themselves with a bit more disposable income in 2018, we are possibly witnessing an acceleration in the shift of shopper behaviour over to online. Much of the coverage of the downturn on the High Street sees it as a negative development – but actually shoppers are still shopping as much as they did before, it’s not retail that is suffering; it’s just undergoing a digital transition at a far faster pace than was previously the case.”

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