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April 01 2008
Internet beats high street to the Easter rush
Visits to UK
high street shops and retail centres have fallen for the eighth month in a row
while Internet sales have continued to gain momentum
It’s no surprise that the earliest and coldest Easter in years has seen poor results for the high street.
The Experian FootFall Index for March 2008 recorded continued decline in shopping visits to UK High Streets and retail centres, with year-on-year comparisons registering eight successive months of falling shopper numbers. Meanwhile, according to Hitwise, Internet sales continued to gain momentum as more people chose to visit online retailers, reflecting a continued shift in consumer purchasing behaviour.
Despite the early Easter, which provided modest uplift, overall visitor numbers to retail centres and shopping centres fell by 2.7 per cent this March compared with March 2007. Meanwhile, according to Hitwise, UK Internet visits to Shopping and Classifieds websites were up 2.2% compared to Easter 2007, with a variety of retailers reaping the benefits.
“It is the Internet that seems to be gaining most from the decline in High Street numbers,” added Robin Goad, Research Director at Hitwise. “Despite the economic woes, it was a good Easter weekend for retailers online. UK Internet visits to Shopping and Classifieds websites were up 2.2% compared to Easter 2007, with a variety of retailers reaping the benefits.
“Thorntons.co.uk received its largest ever share of Internet visits for the week ending 22 March and was the number one Shopping & Classifieds: Flowers & Gifts website over Easter (see table below). Visits to the website increased by 137% compared to the Easter week in 2007, and were 25% higher than during Christmas 2007.
“HMV.com was another winner, achieving its highest rank within the Shopping & Classifieds: Music category since Christmas. The extended holiday also resulted in peak in traffic to online DIY stores. UK Internet traffic to House and Garden retailers such as B&Q, Screwfix Direct and Homebase has been increasing steadily over the last three years, and the sector is now the sixth most popular retail sub-category online, putting it ahead of the Computers, Music and Video & Games categories.”
Other Internet gainers included:
T-Mobile Shop – highest ever level of traffic during the
Easter week
Dixons – up 14% on last Easter
Sainsbury’s – up 91% on last Easter
Subscriptions