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January 17 2007
40% growth predicted for e-retail in 2007
With the level of Christmas sales online confirmed at £7.66 billion in a market worth £30.2 billion over the whole of 2006, according to IMRG, thoughts are starting to turn to sales figures for 2007 and Christmas 2007 (albeit with trading statements still coming into the media from retailers).
IMRG predicts that e-retail sales in 2007 will rise by 40% to £42 billion (not counting sales in the high street which have been influenced by the internet). The turnover from shopping online for Christmas 2007 is also predicted to be higher than the 2006 level, since only 1% of shoppers, who shopped online in 2006, are planning to spend less next Christmas, according to research for digital consultancy Logan Tod.
The survey predicts a one third increase for online shopping next Christmas with sales hitting the £10 billion mark. When asked for their main reason for shopping onlie, respondents said what you would expect them to:
"This highlights the current positive consumer sentiment and a continuation in the recent trend of spending power increasingly moving online," said Logan Tod's Chief Executive Matthew Tod.
The over 50s are "set to be a major driver of growth, with value of sales from this section of the population predicted to grow twice as fast in comparison to the younger generation of 18-29 year olds," said Tod.
Twelve months is a long time in the digital arena and things will change. Hopefully, by the time 25 December comes around again the industry will have smoothed out processes which this year have kept shoppers from making more of their purchases online.
Emma Herrod
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