UK online retail sales grew by just 7 per cent in September – their lowest rate since 2010 – asfashion sales stagnated due to unusually warm weather but the outlook for the peak season remains
strong, according to the latest monthly IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index.Although an estimated £8.2 billion was spent online, multichannel retailers (retailers with astore presence) have resisted the downward trend more than pureplay retailers (those that areonline only), with 8 per cent year-on-year growth in multichannel compared to only 5 per centyear-on-year for pureplay merchants, e-commerce association IMRG pointed out.
The clothing sector saw sales stagnate against 2013 levels with just 0.3 per cent growth.The lowest ever recorded growth in this sector suggests the warm weather discouraged shoppers fromupdating their wardrobes until autumn really sets in. However, whilst footwear slowed to 4.5 percent year-on-year, accessories continued to perform strongly with sales up 48 per centyear-on-year.
In the July – September third quarter, however, average growth reached 13 per centyear-on-year. The electrical sector sustained strong growth of 15 per cent in the quarter, likelydriven by strong consumer demand for the new iPhone 6 range, launched in September.
Furthermore, the home and garden, and alcohol (beers, wines and spirits) sectors havebenefited from the warm summer and milder autumn with growth rates of 17 per cent and 16 per centrespectively. Although growth levels are down on last year for both sectors, this is considerablyless so compared with the clothing sector and total marketplace as a whole. Despite the continuedmigration to mobile commerce, this sector saw the lowest growth rate at 29 per cent, which is asignificant drop from the previous all-time low of 36 per cent.
Tina Spooner, Chief Information Officer at IMRG, commented: “The unseasonably warm weatherlast month clearly had a negative effect on the online retail industry, with apparel merchants inparticular seeing a significant impact on sales. As clothing and fashion merchants launched theirautumn / winter ranges, temperatures during September reached levels significantly above earlyautumn averages so it is no surprise that winter coats and boots were not at the top of our onlineshopping lists. This is not the first time we have seen unseasonal weather having a detrimentaleffect on e-retail sales, however, on a more positive note, it appears the milder temperaturesduring September boosted sales of beer, wine and spirits and garden products.
Looking ahead, she added: “As we enter the fourth quarter and retailers prepare for the keyfestive trading period, we expect growth levels to return to the consistent double-digit figures wehave seen throughout 2014.”
Adgild Hop, Principal, Head of Retail Consulting at Capgemini, commented: “As is so oftenthe case, weather has once again influenced retail growth this month. Retailers across the UK, butin particular those retailers with more seasonal trade, will no doubt be hoping to recoup some ofthe lost sales before markdown pressures take over.
“This month has also yet again highlighted the relative strength of multichannel versusonline propositions, with a year-on-year LFL (like-for-like) performance for multichannel retailersthat is 80 per cent higher that their pure-play online counterparts,” he added.
