Continued rise in online sales masks big overall falls

Post by Steven Cox on 20th February 2012
 in E-commerce, Retail

Online sales continue to advance at the expense of those on the high street, according to new figures.

Sales in January were up 16 per cent compared with a year earlier, with the IMRG Capgemini Retail Sales Index showing that online sales topped £6billion for the month.

That breaks down into an average of £118 in the month for every person in the UK.

Online underwear shopping appears to be one of the fastest-growing trends: lingerie sales grew at the fastest rate over the year, of 30 per cent, just pipping health and beauty products, whose sales were up by 29 per cent through online channels over the same period.

But the online sales boom is failing to mask some dramatic falls in overall figures in many categories, including clothing, footwear and accessories, where spending fell by 38 per cent, and electrical goods, where it plummeted by 41 per cent.

Chris Webster, Head of Retail Consulting and Technology at Capgemini, commented: “There’s little cheer in these results for retailers. While consumer price inflation is steadily decreasing, it has thus far failed to reinvigorate consumer spending.

“The steady march of customers moving from the high street to online channels continues and if anything, accelerates as savvy shoppers look to make their wages stretch further.”