December 2013 was a good month for online business, according to the BBC. The British Retail Consortium estimate that 1 in 5 non-food sales made over the month were made online, a staggering increase of nearly 20% from last year! With Internet shopping playing such a large part of the UK economy, isn’t it time you got yourself an online shop?
On the whole, the BRC survey reveals that 18.6% of total sales in the UK were made online.
We’ve seen a rising trend over the last year or so, but what are the factors for the sudden domination of the online trade?
Helen Dickinson, Director General of the BRC, believes that the increase is down to the abundance of smartphones and tablets, allowing people to buy products online with the minimum of fuss.
The introduction of click and collect has also had a large impact on both online and retail sales. When people order products online to be collected in store, it gives retailers a chance to make two transactions as people come into their bricks and mortar store to pick up their order and get to see other offers and products for sale.
Ms. Dickinson said that the Christmas period had seen “innovative retailers using click and collect and other approaches to make a virtue of both their website and their physical shops.”
Online stores which had a particularly good Christmas included Next and John Lewis, whilst other stores with less of an online presence had disappointing festive periods. Both Marks and Spencer and Morrisons saw their sales drop overall, and blamed their developing online profile.
So what can we learn from all this?
There are 3 lessons that can be taken from the bumper Christmas period:
Mobile Sites are Becoming Increasingly More Important – Smartphones have given people near constant access to the Internet. Wherever you are, in just a few clicks on your phone you can buy a product and get it sent to you. If you’ve got an online shop, then it’s vital that it’s compatible with mobile and tablet, otherwise customers will struggle to make purchases and that’s not good news for your business.
Customers are Happy to Collect Items From Your Store – The success of click and collect shows that customers are happy to visit stores they know and trust to pick up their purchases. The trick is to encourage more sales out of them once they’re in store. By promoting in-store only offers, you can turn one transaction into 2 or even 3.
It’s Essential to Have an Online Shop in 2014 – If you’re planning on selling items online, then it’s vital that you have a shop that customers can easily access, looks great and that your customers feel comfortable using. The high street is by no means finished, but it’s obvious that as we move into 2014 it’s time to embrace online shopping.
The figures speak for themselves. With online sales making up nearly 20% of the total retail sales for December 2013, there’s never been a better time to get an online shop and be ready for Christmas 2014!
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