According to the publisher, the E-commerce market in United Kingdom is expected to grow by 7.32% on annual basis to reach US$335.3 billion in 2024. Medium to long term growth story of E-commerce industry in United Kingdom promises to be attractive . The E-commerce is expected to grow steadily over the forecast period, recording a CAGR of 6.36% during 2024-2028. The E-commerce Gross Merchandise Value in the country will increase from US$312.4 billion in 2023 to reach US$429.1 billion by 2028.
The business-to-consumer e-commerce market is expected to grow at a steady rate in the United Kingdom over the medium term. Online retailers are taking measures to reduce operational costs, thereby targeting profitability over the next three to four years. Food delivery platforms, too, are seeking to expand into other product categories to diversify revenue streams and accelerate growth.
Global firms are also projected to expand their presence in the United Kingdom market over the medium term. This will drive investment and competitive landscape in the sector in 2024. Despite short-term challenges, including reduced consumer spending and a higher inflationary environment, the publisher maintains a positive outlook for the United Kingdom's B2C e-commerce market over the next three to four years.
Authorities are planning to ban hidden fees and fake reviews in the United Kingdom market in 2024
According to the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), reviews are used by 90% of consumers and contributed to £224 billion spent in online retail markets in 2022. However, to drive product sales and revenue growth, fake reviews are widely adopted practices in the online commerce space. To stop such practices and protect consumers, authorities are planning to ban fake reviews on online platforms in the United Kingdom.
Under the new regulations, authorities are also seeking to ban unavoidable hidden fees, which will force businesses to be transparent with their customers. These changes will come in as part of the Digital Markets, Competition, and Consumers Bill. According to the proposed regulations, mandatory fees should be included in the headline price or at the start of the shopping journey.
Retailers are charging return fees on online purchases to offset the rise in delivery and processing costs
Product return has been a major issue for online commerce platforms. The surge in return rate is adversely affecting the profitability of most retailers. As a result, firms are now charging return fees on online purchases to offset the rise in delivery and processing costs.
- H&M, for instance, announced that the firm is set to charge shoppers who wanted to return their unwanted items bought online. The group, in September 2023, revealed that it will charge £1.99 to take back items that are not faulty or damaged by post. The fee will be deducted from the customer's refund unless they are signed up for the free membership loyalty scheme offered by the firm. H&M, however, is offering free returns for in-stores.
- H&M is not the only retailer to have adopted such return policy measures. Similar return fees have been introduced by rival retailers including Zara, New Look, Uniqlo, Boohoo, and Next. Asos and Marks & Spencer, however, have continued to offer free returns in their bid to bring in more shoppers. H&M, going forward, is planning to launch the return fee in more of its global markets in 2024, after introducing it in the United Kingdom in 2023.
As return rates continue to climb for fashion retailers, the publisher expects more retailers to adopt a return fee policy from the short to medium-term perspective. This, in turn, might reduce the gross merchandise value for online retailers over the next three to four years.
Food delivery platforms are expanding into non-food product categories to accelerate growth in 2024
The food delivery sector has been consolidating over the last 12 months and the trend might continue in 2024. Consequently, to diversify revenue streams and accelerate growth, food delivery platforms in the United Kingdom are expanding into non-food categories.
- Deliveroo, one of the leading food delivery platforms, announced expansion into non-food retail in November 2023. The expansion into categories like toys, electronics, and other goods is part of its strategy to drive revenue and profit growth. The firm, notably, launched Deliveroo Shopping on its app. This will enable shoppers to make non-food item purchases.
- The expansion into new product categories puts Deliveroo in competition with Amazon, which is also a shareholder in the food delivery firm. Amazon, notably, holds 14.13% stake in Deliveroo. The firm, over the medium term, is expecting gross value transactions to grow by a mid-teens percentage year over year. In the food delivery sector, Deliveroo is competing with Uber Eats and Just Eat Takeaway in the United Kingdom market.
Going forward, the publisher expects more food delivery platforms to enter new product categories, diversifying their revenue streams. This will boost the competitive landscape, while also supporting the industry growth over the next three to four years.
This report provides a detailed data centric analysis of E-commerce market dynamics, covering over 100 KPIs in United Kingdom. It details market opportunity across key B2C verticals - Retail Shopping, Travel & Hospitality, Online Food Service, Media and Entertainment, Healthcare and Wellness, and Technology Products and Services. It provides market share by key players across key verticals along with sales channels (Platform to Consumer, Direct to Consumer, Consumer to Consumer). In addition, it provides spending pattern by payment instruments along with a snapshot of consumer behaviour in United Kingdom.
The report also covers niche trends such as market size by live streaming engagement model and cross border purchases. It also covers ecommerce spend share by operating systems, device (mobile vs desktop) and cities.
In addition, to detailed data-centric analysis, this report provides analyst commentary on key trends, drivers, strategies, and innovations in the E-commerce industry in United Kingdom.
Scope
This report provides a detailed data-driven look at the United Kingdom Ecommerce industry, covering various segments and highlighting areas of interest across the verticals in the industry. In addition, it provides a comprehensive understanding of market dynamics and future forecast.
United Kingdom Ecommerce Market Size and Future Growth Dynamics
- Gross Merchandise Value Trend Analysis
- Average Value Per Transaction Trend Analysis
- Gross Merchandise Volume Trend Analysis
United Kingdom User Statistics and Ratios of Key Performance Indicators
- User Statistics
- Card Abandonment Rate and Product Return Rate
- Ecommerce Per Capita and GDP Per Capita
- GDP Per Capita Trend Analysis
United Kingdom Ecommerce Market Share by Key Players
- United Kingdom Retail Shopping Ecommerce Market Share by Key Players (Amazon, Coles, Kmart, Myer, Woolworths)
- United Kingdom Travel Ecommerce Market Share by Key Players (Expedia, Lux Group, Shebah, Uber Taxi, Webjet)
- United Kingdom Food Service Ecommerce Market Share by Key Players (Deliveroo, Doordash, Menulog, OpenTable, Uber Eats)
United Kingdom Ecommerce Market Size and Forecast by Ecommerce Segments (Gross Merchandise Value Trend Analysis
- Retail Shopping (breakdown by clothing, footwear & accessories, health, beauty and personal care, food & beverage, appliances and electronics, home improvement, books, music & video, toys & hobby, auto)
- Travel and Hospitality (breakdown by air travel, train & bus, taxi service, hotels & resorts)
- Online Food Service (breakdown by aggregators, direct to consumer)
- Media and Entertainment (breakdown by streaming services, movies & events, theme parks & gaming)
- Healthcare and Wellness
- Technology Products and Services
- Other segments
United Kingdom Ecommerce Market Size and Forecast by Retail Shopping Sales Channel
- Platform to Consumer
- Direct to Consumer
- Consumer to Consumer
United Kingdom Ecommerce Market Share by Travel and Hospitality Sales Channel
- Market Share by Travel and Hospitality Sales Channel
- Aggregator App - Gross Merchandise Value Trend Analysis
- Direct to Consumer - Gross Merchandise Value Trend Analysis
United Kingdom Ecommerce Market Size and Forecast by Online Food Service Sales Channel
- Aggregator App
- Direct to Consumer
United Kingdom Ecommerce Market Size and Forecast by Engagement Model (Gross Merchandise Value Trend Analysis, 2019-2028)
- Website Based
- Live Streaming
United Kingdom Ecommerce Market Size and Forecast by Location (Gross Merchandise Value Trend Analysis
- Cross Border
- Domestic
United Kingdom Ecommerce Market Size and Forecast by Device (Gross Merchandise Value Trend Analysis
- Mobile
- Desktop
United Kingdom Ecommerce Market Size and Forecast by Operating System
- iOS/macOS
- Android
- Other Operating Systems
United Kingdom Ecommerce Market Size and Forecast by City
- Tier 1
- Tier 2
- Tier 3
United Kingdom Ecommerce Market Size and Forecast by Payment Instrument (Gross Merchandise Value Trend Analysis, 2019-2028)
- Credit Card
- Debit Card
- Bank Transfer
- Prepaid Card
- Digital & Mobile Wallet
- Cash
- Other Digital Payment
United Kingdom Ecommerce Consumer Demographics
- Market Share by Age Group
- Market Share by Income Level
- Market Share by Gender
Reasons to buy
- In-depth Understanding of Ecommerce Market Dynamics: Understand market opportunities and key trends along with forecast (2019-2028). Understand market dynamics through essential KPIs such as Gross Merchandise Value, Volume, and Average Value Per Transaction.
- Insights into Opportunity by Ecommerce Categories: Get market dynamics by sales channel to assess emerging opportunities across various segments.
- Detailed analysis of market share by key players across key Ecommerce verticals.
- Insights into Opportunities across key Ecommerce verticals: Retail shopping, travel & hospitality, online food service, media and entertainment, healthcare and wellness, and technology products & services.
- Develop Market Specific Strategies: Identify growth segments and target specific opportunities to formulate an Ecommerce strategy; assess market-specific key trends, drivers, and risks in the Ecommerce industry.
- Get Insights into Consumer Attitude and Behaviour: Drawing from proprietary survey results, this report identifies and interprets key Ecommerce KPIs, including spend by age, gender, and income level.
Table of Contents
Companies Mentioned
- Amazon
- Argos
- eBay
- Marks & Spencer ( M&S )
- Tesco
- Deliveroo
- Domino's Pizza
- Gousto
- Just Eat
- Uber Eats
- Booking.com
- Expedia Group
- Gett
- Jet2holidays
- Uber
