Second coronavirus lockdown sees UK online sales accelerate again

Overall UK online retail sales growth in October came in at 35.7% YoY, compared to September’s 42%, according to IMRG and Capgemini research which tracks over 200 retailers.

As rumours of a second coronavirus lockdown began to gain strength, the growth in spend between the third and fourth weeks of October went past the 2019 figures (1.3% and 4.8% YoY), increasing from 32.7% (YoY) to 43.4% (YoY) respectively, suggesting people were starting Christmas shopping earlier than normal.

Meanwhile, mirroring the trend in sales figures since lockdown restrictions were put in place, multi-channel retailers maintained their advantage over their online only counterparts, recording growth of 62.7% versus 19.6%.

Andy Mulcahy, Strategy and Insight Director, IMRG: “When the first lockdown came in, most of the categories online recorded a massive uptick in demand, with home, garden and electricals all seeing triple-digit growth at some point during the spring.”

“That demand was obviously being driven by the situation – the need to set up a home office, the sunniest spring ever etc. – and it did seem like some of them might run out of steam, but actually it has remained very high as we approach the peak period with little sign of slowing down.”

The upshot is that, provided stock levels hold up, November’s volumes are going to provide a really stern test for delivery.

“Not only was there a big jump in sales activity in the last week of October but we could see a huge share of sales brought forward from December too. This will be a challenge to manage but moving so much volume away from Christmas should ultimately prove positive,” Mulcahy concludes.