Online 'still has a long way to go'

The full extent of the gap between online and offline shopping has been exposed with the release of two sets of figures which show that even at their peak on Boxing Day, etailers’ takings will not even topple supermarkets’, let alone the wider retail market.
The findings support a recent report by Acxiom which suggests brands should not ignore last-minute campaigns to encourage shoppers into retail outlets.
Supermarkets are predicted to have a steady final week’s trading in the lead-up to Christmas, according to consumer analyst Nielsen.
Nielsen senior manager for retailer services Mike Watkins said: “We forecast value sales at the UK’s grocery multiples for the seven days to 24 December to increase to around £3.5bn, versus £3.4 billion for the same week last year.
“This should complete a Christmas three-week trading period up to 24 December forecast to be worth around £9.2bn, slightly up on last year when sales for the period were £8.9bn.”
However, Nielsen said value growth for the full 12-week Christmas trading period is still forecast to be lower at just +3.1% (2011 vs. 2010), compared to growth for the same period last year of +4.7% (2010 vs 2009).
Nielsen said that the comparative year-on-year growths for December are looking favourable, partly because of the prolonged snow last year when retailers struggled with replenishment issues.
Meanwhile, IMRG predicts UK shoppers will spend over £550m online over Christmas and Boxing Day this year due to consumer demand for sales.
The online retail body has predicted that UK shoppers will spend £186.4m on Christmas Day itself, while the figure will surge to £367.8m on Boxing Day.
Total online spend over the two-day period will represent a 12% year-on-year rise with the increased number of smartphone and tablet devices generating the bulk of the demand, according to the IMRG.
IMRG’s chief marketing and communications officer David J Smith said: “Shopping on Christmas Day might not appear to quite be in the Christmas spirit, it is worth considering that many of these sales could actually be associated with popular gifts people have received, such as downloadable content for MP3 players and Kindles.”