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Growth doubles in second quarter of 2015

15 Jul 2015

 
London – The latest figures from the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index have revealed that UK online retail sales were up 18% year-on-year (YoY) in June, the highest recorded annual growth in 2015 and equating to £9.3 billion spent online.
 
With a 2.7% increase on May, the results also mark the strongest June month-on-month (MoM) growth since June 2003, reflecting the ongoing increase in UK consumer confidence. The total growth for H1 reached 11%, supported by a much improved second quarter of the year – the Index recorded an annual increase of 14% between April and June, double the growth experienced during January and March (7%).
 
The Index was boosted by a strong performance recorded in a number of key sectors. Sales of clothing in June reached a YoY increase of 18% – its highest rate since November 2014. The travel sector, which has performed consistently well throughout 2015, was up 25% – its highest growth this year, and its third highest annual growth since the Index began recording travel in December 2009.
 
The m-commerce sector (sales via a smartphone or tablet device) recorded a 57% increase on June 2014. Split by device, sales on smartphones far outweighed tablets, reporting a growth rate between January and June of over double that on tablet devices.
 
The Index also revealed the growing disparity between online-only and multichannel retailers (those with both an online and a physical presence). In June, growth for online-only sales reached just 13% YoY, compared to 21% for multichannel retailers.
 
Steve Hewett, Head of Retail Customer Engagement and Loyalty, Capgemini Consulting: “The significant growth in the market will be very reassuring to UK retailers who have thus far experienced a fairly turbulent 2015. With a relatively settled post-election economy, consumer confidence should remain high and we can look forward to a solid H2.
 
“I’m particularly interested to see the impact click and collect services have had on the performance of multichannel retailers compared to theironline only counterparts. Capturing their customer’s delivery needs has helped build a stronger connection between retailer and consumer, which is ultimately being reflected at the cash register. It will be key for the online community to capitalise on the current consumer confidence and find a way to build the same level of connection.” 

 
Tina Spooner, chief information officer, IMRG: “During the first quarter of this year we were speculating as to whether online retail was entering a new phase of lower growth rates – with Q1 up just 7% on the same period in 2014. However, in Q2 sales growth has jumped up to 14% on that recorded in Q2 2014 – which is all the more interesting as this period included a highly uncertain general election. June brought the strongest performance of the year so far, no doubt buoyed by the consistent summer weather which also saw the highest growth for the clothing sector so far in 2015. It may be that the slowdown we recorded during Q1 was a blip caused by a number of factors and actually consumer confidence has risen sufficiently to keep online sales growth at this higher rate throughout the summer period and moving into peak.”

– ENDS –

About the ‘IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index’
The IMRG Capgemini Index, which was started in April 2000, tracks ‘online sales’, which we define as ‘transactions completed fully, including payment, via interactive channels’ from any location, including in-store. 
Over one hundred e-retailers now regularly contribute data to the IMRG Capgemini Index, including
A. Hume Country Clothing, Alison at Home, Amara, Appliance House, Arcadia Group (Burton, Top Man, Top Shop, Dorothy Perkins, Evans, Wallis, Miss Selfridge), Ask Direct, ASOS.com, B&Q, Ben Sherman, Berry Bros & Rudd, Blacks, Boden.co.uk, Boots, Brora, Buyagift.com, Carphone Warehouse, Charles Tyrwhitt, Clarks, Clinkards, Crocus.co.uk, Dabs.com, Damart, Debenhams, Deckers, Dunelm Mill, Effortless Skin, Ethical Superstore, Feelunique.com, Firebox, First Choice, Freemans Grattan Holdings (Freemans, Grattan, Look Again, Kaleidoscope, Curvissa, Swimear365, Witt International UK), Game, Get The Label, Greenfingers.com, House of Fraser, HouseTrip.co.uk, JD Sports, JD Williams, John Lewis Partnership, Ladderstore.com, Lakeland Furniture, Liz Earle, LK Bennett, M and M Direct, Majestic Wine, Marks & Spencer,  Millets, Moss Bros, Naked Wines, NaturalCollection.com, New Look, Next, Notonthehighstreet.com, PetPlanet.co.uk, PetsPyjamas.com, Pitchup.com, Prezzybox.com, QVC, Sainsbury’s, Scales Express, Schuh, Scotlight Direct, Scott, Screwfix.com, Shoe-Shop.com, Shop Direct Home Shopping (Kays, Littlewoods, Very, Very Exclusive, Isme), Serenata Flowers, Silentnight, Size, Sofa and Home, Sparkling Strawberry, Sunshine.co.uk, SuperGroup, Tesco.com, The Body Shop, The Great Gift Company, The Mat Factory, The White Company, TUI UK, Turton Wines, Waitrose, Wilkinson Hardware, Woods of Shropshire & Wynsors World of Shoes.

About IMRG
For over 20 years, IMRG (Interactive Media in Retail Group) has been the voice of e-retail in the UK. We are a membership community comprising businesses of all sizes – multichannel and pureplay, SME and multinational, and solution providers to industry.
We support our members through a range of activities – including market tracking and insight, benchmarking and best practice sharing. Our indexes provide in-depth intelligence on online sales, mobile sales, delivery trends and over 40 additional KPIs.
Our goal is to ensure our members have the information and resources they need to succeed in rapidly-evolving markets – both domestically and internationally.
www.imrg.org 

About Capgemini
With more than 145,000 people in over 40 countries, Capgemini is one of the world’s foremost providers of consulting, technology and outsourcing services. The Group reported 2014 global revenues of EUR 10.573 billion. Together with its clients, Capgemini creates and delivers business and technology solutions that fit their needs and drive the results they want. A deeply multicultural organization, Capgemini has developed its own way of working, the Collaborative Business ExperienceTM, and draws on Rightshore®, its worldwide delivery model.
Learn more about us at: www.capgemini.com.
Rightshore® is a trademark belonging to Capgemini