August 2016
Featured in this insight: Retail, IT & telecommunications
Data suggests half of online spend is with online only stores: According to figures from the Office for National Statistics, online shops with no physical shops on the high street, such as Amazon and Asos, took approximately 50p of every £1 spend online in 2015. This figure represents a 25 per cent increase since 2010, when 41p of every £1 spent online was spent on an online shop.
Experts within the retail sector said that the increase was in part as a result of consumers getting over some of the issues associated with shopping online, for example, not being able to feel or try on items and also finding a cheaper deal online.
A survey of 5,000 online consumers by United Parcel Service Inc marked the first time that shoppers claimed to purchase more of their goods online, as opposed to in physical stores.
The survey – which questioned consumers who shop online and purchase at least two items per three month – revealed that 51 per cent of purchases are now made online, an increase from the 48 per cent recorded in 2015 and 47 per cent in 2014.
Irrespective of the upwards trend in online shopping, the figures suggest that 88 per cent of all shopping in Great Britain is still done in-store, which alludes to the idea that Brits are not ready to exclusively shop online.
The increase in online shopping can be attributed to the adoption of smartphones, electronic payment technology and mobile shopping applications.
In 2016 44 per cent of smartphone users have revealed that they have made at least one purchase from their smartphone this year, an increase from 41 per cent last year.
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