Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
Online sales of non-food products grew 19.2% in January against last January’s rise of 13.5%, representing the strongest leap January 2009, according to the BRC- KPMG Retail Sales Monitor.
Helen Dickinson, Director General, British Retail Consortium, said: “Another strong set of sales figures showed the continuing growth of online and its increasing importance as part of the retail mix in the UK.
“Embracing omnichannel sales has been a big driver of business for UK retailers. We’ve seen an ever-more discerning customer taking good advantage of click and collect and other innovative services. The combination of an online presence with a bricks and mortar offering is becoming increasingly compelling. There’s no doubt that online is driving structural change within the sector and retailers will continue to invest heavily to provide the seamless experience between channels that today’s shoppers demand. Our figures showed that 17.4% of all non-food spending is online and we’re expecting this number to continue to rise as operations become more efficient, collections more convenient, deliveries faster and technology more integrated.”
David McCorquodale, Head of Retail, KPMG, said: “With growth at 19% and penetration from online sales running at 17%, this channel is much more than the new frontier for retailers and really is the growth engine for the sector. Many retailers are investing heavily in analytics and supply chain fulfilment to drive personalisation of offer to the consumer and differentiate themselves from competitors through delivery performance. As online growth drives about a third of non-food sales expansion, retailers are doing all they can to fully embrace the growth prospects offered.”
