e-Retail Sales Index - 12th Anniversary Report

IMRG, May 2012, Pages: 47

During the past 12 years IMRG has tracked the performance of the UK e-retail market, providing this dynamic and fast-moving industry with the very latest intelligence on sales performance. Since launch the Index has recorded staggering growth of over 7,300%, with Britons having spent an estimated total of over £360bn shopping online over the past 12 years.

In the year 2000 when the Index launched, the e-retail sector was in its infancy. At that time the online retail space was largely dominated by pureplay retailers, although 2000 saw Argos and Tesco launch their online retail operations. In its first year the Index reported the UK e-retail market was worth an estimated £1.8bn and there were around 6m Britons enjoying the benefits of shopping via the internet. Twelve years on, e-retail sales are expected to reach £77bn in 2012 and there are now 37m online shoppers in the UK.

During the year to April 2012, the average annual growth recorded in the Index was 14% - this compares with 20% annual growth recorded in the fiscal year 2011/2012. In the period April 2011 to April 2012 UK consumers spent an estimated £76bn shopping online.

The strongest performing sectors over the past 12 months were clothing, health & beauty, beer, wine & spirits and home & garden. However, while clothing sales have consistently outperformed the total e-retail market, over the past few months sales have slowed, perhaps an indication that the online clothing market is reaching a level of maturity. Sectors that fared less well over the past 12 months were electricals, gifts and travel.

During 2011 the UK e-retail market grew 16% year-on-year, with estimated sales reaching an impressive £68.2bn. The year was split into two halves in terms of e-retail growth. During the first half of 2011 the Index recorded solid growth of 18% compared with the first half of 2010. However, the mild autumn weather appeared to have a detrimental effect on sales in the third quarter, in particular the clothing sector, with consumers delaying the purchase of new winter fashion items. Although annual growth in the second half of the year slowed to 14%, it should be noted this is on the back of the strong year-on-year growth recorded in the second half of 2010, when e-retail sales grew 21%. Despite the slowdown during the second half of last year, the UK online retail market held up well when compared with the poor performance on the high street.

James Roper, CEO at IMRG comments: “With the on-going global economic downturn and the UK slipping back into recession in 2012, it can be difficult to find genuine signs of positive growth in business but the e-retail market continues to deliver it. Over the 12 years that our Index has been measuring the market we’ve seen over £360bn spent at UK online retailers, and the industry is on track to record double-digit growth again this year. A real strength of the UK online market is its competitiveness and attractiveness to consumers in other countries. Over 30% of cross-border trade in Europe goes through UK retailers and businesses from other countries consider it a very difficult market to enter with any real success. This puts UK retailers on an excellent footing to expand into cross-border markets as e-retail becomes more and more international to the benefit of people all over the world.”

Executive Summary

Index Facts & Figures

e-Retail Facts & Figures

April 2012 Index Results

High St/Multichannel vs Online-only/Catalogue

e-Retail Market (excluding Travel)

m-Retail Index

IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index vs ONS Retail Sales Index

Accessories

Beer, Wine & Spirits

Clothing, Footwear, Accessories

Electrical

Footwear

Gifts

Health & Beauty

Home & Garden

Lingerie

Menswear

Travel

Womenswear

Index Sector Classification

About IMRG

IMRG is the UK's e-Retail industry association, engaged in promoting best practices in a pragmatic manner through provision of latest market insights, guidance, tools and networking events. Their research reports enable management executives to extract key information on latest (e-commerce) trends, consumer insights and formulate key business strategies.

Analysis carried out by our researchers is backed by real-time market information and data collected from reliable sources such as national statistical offices, membership organisations, business reports and news articles. Additionally, the data presented in reports is collected through extensive market research and views opined by industry leaders

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