UK online retail continued strong double-digit growth in February with sales rising by 18% year-on-year to £8.9 billion, mainly driven by particularly strong online sales of clothes and Valentine’s Day, according to the British e-commerce association IMRG.
The strong result in February which even exceeds the 15% growth in January represents the highest increase since June 2015. “While the increase was building on a disappointing February in 2015 (when growth was just 8%), the results reveal an impressive performance none-the-less,” IMRG stressed.
February was a particularly strong month for the clothing sector with sales surging 22% year-on-year – its highest annual growth since 2013, the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index revealed. The clothing sub-sectors menswear and accessories also posted strong results with sales increasing by 31% and 35% respectively. “The colder weather may have had an impact on sales here, with shoppers spending on winter-wear following the unseasonably warm final quarter of 2015,” the e-commerce association explained.
Valentine’s Day on 14th February gave the index a further push as Brits splashed out on romantic presents for their loved ones, boosting the sales of lingerie with 20% growth year-on-year. While the gifts sector showed much more moderate growth of 6% year-on-year, sales peaked in in the week leading up to Valentine’s Day, in line with historical trends.
However, the electrical sector showed a rather disappointing performance last month with an annual increase of just 6%, despite double-digit growth of 15% in January, following a tough year 2015 for the sector.
Tina Spooner, chief information officer, IMRG said: “Following a strong performance in January, UK e-retail sales continued to accelerate last month, resulting in overall year-on-year growth of 16%, year-to-date. Although this is on the back of a relatively weak performance in Q1 2015, the latest results are impressive and are well ahead of our 11% growth forecast for 2016.”
She highlighted the increasing shift towards mobile devices, with smartphones making up over a third (34%) of mobile commerce sales during February. “This is up from 24% in the same month last year, and reveals that smartphones have taken an additional 10% share of UK m-retail sales over the past year.”
Richard Tremellen, Retail Insight and Data Specialist, Capgemini, commented: “Despite overall retail sales in February being flat, online growth continues to be strong. This is particularly encouraging given average basket values were up some 11% year on year, indicating factors other than discounting are driving growth. The strong performance in clothing suggests retailer investments in breadth of range, flexible delivery and ease of returns may be paying off for this sector.”
He also highlighted the continued disparity between sales made via smartphones and tablet devices. While smartphones recorded 92% annual growth in February, sales made via tablets grew by just 11%.”
