UK online retail sales continued to post double-digit, year-on-year growth in July, confirming the recovery from a slow start to the year, figures from the national e-commerce association, IMRG, have shown.
Strong mobile phone sales boosted the overall performance but in contrast, some sectors showed rather disappointing results last month.
In July, e-retail sales growth in the UK reached 12% year-on-year, rising to 15% when the travel sector was excluded, according to the latest IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index.
The m-commerce sector, which comprises sales via smartphones or tablet devices, continued to grow strongly, increasing 42% last month on July 2014.
However, sales growth in the electrical sector was disappointing, up just 5% year-on-year in July, in keeping with the low single-digit increases recorded so far this year. Between January and July, the sales of electrical goods increased by 3% on average, compared to 15% during the same period last year. The garden sub-sector, which experienced a decline of 25% on the same period in 2014, has posted a similar performance this year. Since February 2015, the sector reported a drop in online sales each month, which has resulted in a year-to-date decline of 14%.
In contrast, the index was boosted by a strong performance in the clothing sector which recorded 14% growth last month. “Despite an uncertain start to the year, July marks the second consecutive month of double-digit growth for this sector in 2015 (18% year-on-year growth in June 2015),” IMRG stressed.
The accessories and footwear sub-sectors also performed particularly well in July.
At 5.1%, July also featured the highest conversion rate so far recorded in 2015. Similarly, the average basket value (ABV) reached £78 in July – the only month since January not to record a decrease on the same period in 2014.
Tina Spooner, chief information officer, IMRG, said: “Growth rates in e-retail but higher conversion rates and lower average basket values have been consistent trends. However, while the percentage of online browsers converting to shoppers hit a high for the year in July, the average basket value remained unchanged from July 2014 – this follows five consecutive months of annual decline in average basket values. With the slow start to the year, it may be that retailers felt pressured into longer and deeper sales campaigns to stimulate activity, and that we are now in a summer season where shopping has ‘normalised’ to an extent before we enter the festive trading period.”
Alex Smith-Bingham, head of digital, consumer products and retail, at Capgemini, commented: “The continued solid performance of the Index will be reassuring to the UK’s retailers, and is a clear reflection of the ongoing consumer confidence in the health of the economy. The decline in big-ticket items from the electrical sector will continue to leave its mark, but with the new iPhone 6S anticipated to launch in September, we could see a very significant boost before the end of the year.”
