July 25 2007

Shoppers move online to avoid the rain

The wet summer may have been keeping shoppers away from the high street but has led to a higher number of visitors to shopping sites online. The start of Summer sales has helped to increase visitor numbers in recent weeks.

According to Hitwise, June bore witness to a modest recovery for online retailing, with an increase in internet visits to retail websites for the first time in five months. Visits to retail websites were down by as much as 5% in April and May, but were up by 2% year-on-year in June. More recently, summer sales have pushed visits up further, by 3% year-on-year in the week to 21 July 2007.

The increase is being fuelled by several retail sub-categories in particular, with visits to Apparel & Accessories websites up 11% year-on-year, Department Stores up 7%, Home & Garden up 7% and Video and Games up 7%.

Emma Herrod