Fab February for UK online retailers
After a sluggish end to 2018 and start to 2019, the UK online retail space bounced back in February, thanks to unexpectedly warm weather.
The industry recorded its strongest growth (+9.4% YoY) in six months, according to the IMRG Capgemini eRetail Sales Index. This did, however, fall below the five-year average of +10.6% YoY for February.
Andy Mulcahy, Strategy and Insight Director, IMRG, says: “Discounting had been very widespread across retail since July 2018, owing to the difficult and unique trading environment that retailers are facing. Following January clearance, many either switched off discounting or at least reduced the prominence of it – and it’s the multichannel retailers that seem to have navigated the shift more successfully.”
“Those with a High Street presence recorded a rate of online sales growth almost three-times greater than their online-only counterparts and the basket values are also revealing; the February average spend on multi-channel sites was down -7%, while for online-only retailers it fell more sharply by -17%, suggesting perhaps that they still maintained a greater reliance on discounting.”
