It’s almost Xmas time, the time, when traditionally wallets are opened and emptied with more abandon than usual. In there tight financial times, however, and with slim prospects of a juicy bonus, the stress can become unbearable.

Consumers need to be smarter about their purchasing behaviour and that means turning to the web where there are more options, more information and fiercer competition.
As High Street retailers start to feel the pinch, online retail sales are set to rise to a staggering £13.16 billion in the last quarter of 2008. This is a 15% rise year-on-year, according to the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index.

This calculation equates to £215 spent online by each person in the UK. Specifically, the online sales of clothing and footwear are expected to rise 25% each year to £1.27 million with the sale of beer, wine and spirits set to rise to £233 million.

Monday 8th December is expected to be the biggest online shopping day of 2008 in the UK, with the projected tally set at £320 million. Forty two per cent of those sales will take place outside “normal” shopping hours, i.e. before 9am or after 6pm. Interestingly, the peak shopping hour is expected to take place between 1 and 2pm on Monday 8th December when it is expected that £28 million will be spent online. This is double the amount spent online during the peak hour of 2006 for the same time period. IMRG chief executive James Roper says,

“British shoppers will beat the crunch with Internet prices this Christmas, spending more than £1 billion each week in the run-up. The Internet is well established as one of consumers’ most powerful economic weapons against tough times. Retailers and suppliers will be under extreme pressure to price competitively this year, so there will be a lot of volatility – and fantastic bargains – that the Internet uniquely enables canny shoppers to find and grab before anyone else gets the chance.”

It looks as if online sales will weather the economic storm, as online continues to be where retailers look to for development. As customer expectation increases, so too do the standards of online retail. If you are an online retailer and want to take advantage of this massive opportunity, the time is now.

It’s time to zoop up your website, maximise its efficiency with a solid SEO strategy, and make sure it’s in tip-top shape because the future is not as gloomy as it appears to be. The time for online retail is NOW! :)

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