Christmas 2012 sales jump 17 per cent on 2011
Online sales over the 2012 Christmas period grew by 17 per cent, representing the fastest growth since December 2011, when they increased by 18.5 per cent, according to figures from the British Retail Consortium.
The findings revealed that there was a significant boom in online sales for health and beauty goods, along with footwear and clothing. However, figures also showed that without the rise in online sales for health and beauty items, spending would have fallen.
Somewhat unsurprisingly, the most popular gifts purchased online were electrical goods and gadgets, such as smartphones, tablets and e-readers.
Meanwhile, retail sales values grew by 0.3 per cent on a like-for-like basis from December 2011, when they had increased by 2.2 per cent on the previous year. Overall, online sales rose by 1.5 per cent against a 4.1 per cent jump in December 2011.
Commenting on the figures, Mark Haviland, managing director of CPA network Rakuten LinkShare, said: “Today’s figures from the BRC show that the online channel is becoming absolutely vital for retailers. This is the channel that is providing growth for British retailers in the omni-channel environment. As apparel and footwear have been identified by the BRC as growth areas, we delved into our own CPA network data from December to explore where this growth was coming from, and found that sales of clothing, shoes and accessories peak on Cyber Monday in December. This is compared to luxury and high-end brands, which make more sales in the final few days before Christmas.
“As shopping on the internet becomes increasingly popular, retailers need to invest in technology which enables them to target potential online customers with the right content, on the right device, at the right time. The BRC is right to identify the investment in web, mobile and tablet technology as a key driver of online sales, as today’s shopper has come to expect a sophisticated, connected shopping experience, whatever device they are using to browse and shop.”
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