February 26 2008

Record £4.5 billion spent online in January sales

‘IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index’shows online consumer spending resilient across electricals and clothing - overall e-Retail market up 75% compared to 2007

Online spending in the January sales reached a record high of over £4.5 billion according to new figures from the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index An equivalent of £74 was spent online for every person in the UK in January a year-on-year increase of 75%.

The IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index reveals that there is variation in the year-on-year growth of individual sectors. Of the sectors that are broken out, the most popular items for online bargain hunters in January were electrical items and clothing which saw the highest year-on year growth. Perhaps a sign of festive excess was the small 9.8% growth in the sales of beers, wines and spirits and the high 18% online spending on Health and Beauty

The Index highlights that January's high rate of growth is a change in direction from the previously falling trend - year-on-year sales in September was 73% which fell to 66% in November and then 49% in December. The growth in sales volume over the last three months is more than double than the same period last year and is at the highest level since January 2003. While the overall e-Retail market is growing because of more retailers entering the online market, the high growth is still concentrated on the bigger players who are capturing the consumers͞ hearts and minds

Anthoula Madden, Vice President at Capgemini UK’s Consumer Products and Retail Team says “The Index shows that January sales are as large a phenomenon online as they are on the high street, with the overall online market continuing to show strong growth. The high growth in electricals and clothing suggests that much of this spending is being driven by shoppers treating themselves to the items missing from their Christmas stockings. The continued growth in the online sector underlines the importance to retailers of understanding and serving customers across all channels. “

Lastminute.com UK managing director John Bevan said: "lastminute.com experienced record traffic figures and bumper bookings in January “January is traditionally a busy time for the travel industry so to see bookings growth of 10% is tremendous, especially as travel is one of the most mature online sectors. Traffic to the site has been equally impressive as more and more people look online for their travel needs. lastminute.com experienced increased traffic and bookings on Christmas Day and this trend has continued throughout the New Year and into February."

by Marcus Austin (Web Editor)