New data highlights that online retail sales growth continued to soar in the days leading up to the reopening of non-essential stores as consumers maintained the new buying behaviour they adopted during the lockdown.
The IMRG Capgemini Online Retail Index for the week commencing 14 June showed sales surged up 41.3% year-on-year with a 1.8% week-on-week rise.
The year-on-year figure marks the second strongest growth since lockdown measures were put in place from the index that tracks the online sales performance of over 200 retailers.
Despite the reopening of their physical stores on 15 June, multichannel retailers recorded online sales growth of 4% week-on-week. Compared to 2019, this represented a whopping increase of 71%, which is the highest growth ever recorded for this group.
Taking a closer look at how the categories performed, the weekly results were primarily driven by strong sales in Home & Garden and Electricals – up 114.7% and 99.9% year-on-year respectively.
Health & Beauty sales also rose by 70.5% year-on-year but were down by 2.5% week-on-week. However, with many Health & Beauty stores open during lockdown, this dip may not have been influenced by the high street reopening.
Meanwhile, despite some steep discounting, online clothing sales plateaued at 0% growth week-on-week.
Lucy Gibbs, Managing Consultant – Retail Insight, at Capgemini: “Multichannel retailers saw online sales go from strength to strength despite a hypothesis that the ability to spend in re-opened stores would decrease the reliance on online shopping.
“As lockdown eases in an attempt to shift back towards the former pre-COVID-19 norm, the question remains which consumer behaviours and trends will return, and which will have changed for the long term? Have consumers shopping habits irreversibly swung towards Online shopping rather than Instore shopping?
“Right now, it may be too early to unpick the patterns from consumers’ pent up demand being released by Governments decision to relax these measures, alongside an increased drive for consumer spending; it appears moving retail front of mind is also potentially causing a halo effect in digital sales.”
NAM Implications:
- Pragmatists will assume a greater degree of ‘permanence’ in online trends.
- i.e. traditional retailers have so far to go in order to win back consumers’ physical presence…
- …to an environment that discourages ‘normal’ shopping.
- This will cause them to focus on optimising online, thereby yielding a greater response…
- (Unless you are prepared to await a return to the old days, no matter how long it takes…)
