Very.co.uk flags six ways we shopped differently this Xmas
Digital retailer Very.co.uk, which notched up a record breaking festive period, has compiled its top six ways our online shopping habits changed during Christmas 2020.
1. We made an earlier start to Christmas shopping
October and November 2020 were massive for online shopping – more so than last year.
The closure of many physical stores during the coronavirus outbreak, competitive deals online and nervousness around delivery and product availability, all led people to start planning for Christmas that little bit earlier.
2. We browsed more during work hours
Very found that we were more comfortable spending time browsing online in regular working hours this Christmas, with more of us working from home.
We browsed more between 9am and 5pm, and shopped less after 5pm compared with the same period in 2019.
3. A Very ‘appy Christmas
More so than ever, we wanted the speed, convenience and personalised experience of shopping via mobile apps.
Sales through Very’s app grew by 33% year-on-year during the festive period, while orders via mobile web, and desktop and tablet devices saw only modest growth, despite us being at home more.
4. Families made their house a home and entertained the kids
Home improvement was high on our agenda. Very saw its home category grow by 46% compared to last year, including a 48% increase in furniture sales.
The retailer also saw over 200% growth in home improvement, comprising flooring and paint, as more of us started DIY projects. We prioritised entertaining our children this Christmas too, with gaming up 106.4%.
Black Friday was particularly popular for entertainment, with Very selling a TV every 30 seconds across the period and a pair of Airpods every 10 seconds on the day itself.
5. We treated ourselves to designer threads
We’ve bought less formal and casual fashion during the pandemic, with fewer social occasions on the horizon. While this trend largely continued over Christmas, premium fashion and footwear grew by 28% year-on-year at Very.
The results suggest that we wanted to treat ourselves and our families to the very best designer brands, having saved on fashion throughout the pandemic. Sportswear and loungewear also continued to be popular.
6. We wanted parcels delivered to our door step
With more and more of us staying at home, Click and Collect became less popular.
18% of parcels were delivered to Click and Collect locations, down 7% pts compared with the previous Christmas, as more of us opted for door step delivery.
A gradual return to more normal online buying patterns
Sam Perkins, Retail MD at The Very Group, which operates Very.co.uk, says: “While many of the trends we saw over Christmas have endured into January, we slowly expect normal service to resume as the vaccine roll-out begins to take effect and Covid-19 measures start to lift.”
“We believe there will be pent-up demand among customers, who will be keen to resume normal life, go out and go on holiday, which in turn will see a gradual return to more normal online buying patterns.”
“This will benefit non-food retailers and we think fashion, in particular, will be resurgent.”
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