February online sales favour pureplays

Equating to an estimated £7.2 billion spent online, the Index reflects the ongoing consumer confidence in the wider online retail sector, with m-retail also reporting 66% year-on-year growth.

The results demonstrate that, despite a precipitous slowdown in High Street sales in February, down 5.3% on March 2013 according to the British Retail Consortium, pureplay e-tailers won out during the recent wet weather.

Pureplays, or online-only/catalogue retailers, recorded an annual growth of 22% in February, the strongest year-on-year growth for three years and far exceeding their multichannel counterparts, who recorded growth of just 16%.

Valentine’s Day also helped boost sales in the online retail sectors traditionally associated with romantic presents. Lingerie recorded a year-on-year increase of 24%, while Health & Beauty, which includes perfume and cosmetics, reported 25% growth on the same time last year.

 

The Index also recorded strong online sales in home and garden, which was attributed to an increasingly healthy housing market. With homeowners spending on new furniture and accessories, the sector reported a 26% increase on February 2013.

 

Tina Spooner, chief information officer at IMRG, commented: “Growth in the UK e-retail sector shows no sign of abating, with the Index performance coming in ahead of our expectations last month. In fact, looking at the combined results for January and February it is evident that we have seen the strongest start to the year since 2011. 

“The exceptionally wet weather during February undoubtedly helped boost online sales as shoppers shunned the High Street. It is interesting to see the pureplay merchants not only outperformed the multichannel retailers in terms of year-on-year e-retail growth, but also recorded a 6% annual rise in average transaction value. Conversely, the average online order value for the multichannel merchants remained unchanged from February last year.”

 

Chris Webster, vice president and head of retail consulting and technology at Capgemini, added: “The continued growth of e-retail demonstrates the overall strength of consumer confidence and leads one to believe the disappointing February overall figures are most likely a result of the wet weather. Strong spending on home and garden and lingerie for Valentine’s Day also shows people investing in homes and relationships further increasing the feel good factor.

 

“As a small aside, it is would be nice to know if the strong increase in footwear year-on-year was caused by a surge in demand for wellies and waders; unfortunately, there are some things our e-Retail Index cannot tell.”

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