UK online sales for November and December were up 31 per cent up on the previous year, according to a new study which predicts strong growth will continue into 2011 on the back of TV convergence and improved broadband.
MetaPack’s eTracker 100 solution shows the year-on-year increase was greater in November (38 per cent) than December (26 per cent), in part reflecting disruption caused by bad weather.
So called Manic Monday (December 6) saw the highest despatch figures, followed closely by Monday December 13. This was also the case in 2009, but then the third Monday in December remained strong, while in 2010 it fell by 31 per cent, on the back of the cold snap.
December also saw more companies operating throughout the season, with the likes of Asos, JD Sports and the DSGi despatching on Boxing Day, with Asos even operational on the Christmas Day. Christmas Eve was also a record day this year, with despatches for post-Christmas 50 per cent up on the previous year.
The first working day back after the New Year (January 4) again saw a 33 per cent increase compared to the first day back last year, showing the VAT increase didn’t have quite as much of an impact as expected and people were still keen to make good use of the online sales.
MetaPack chief executive Patrick Wall said: “Although traffic to retail websites saw the highest reported figures on Boxing Day, our data indicates that much of this traffic was browsing and researching prices before hitting the sales on high street and that the actual buying happened before Christmas. However, it is interesting to note that once back at work, people flooded back to the online stores.”
Wall added: “Over the last two months, ecommerce has had to battle against the elements and the taxman. Despite that we continue to see year on year growth of over 30 per cent. With more retailers still coming online, with improvements in Web offerings, broadband speed and convergence with television, we’ll continue to see very strong growth in 2011.”
