Google UK - the online retail market 2009

Why online retail can help the high Street to speed up in the slowdown

Matt Brittin, director, Google UK:

“Despite the tough trading climate, there is no slowdown in consumers’ adoption of the Internet to research and purchase goods and services. Google’s data shows consumers are shopping for value with an increasing volume of searches for money saving ideas, discount vouchers and safe savings.

The UK is Europe’s largest online market with residents already averaging 33 hours per month online. Online technology now offers a clear and unambiguous measurement of every penny spent online. For e-commerce marketers, keeping pace with the demands and interests of their customers presents a real opportunity to develop their competitive edge and invest in long term growth and profits in the most cost- effective way possible.

Businesses looking to react fast to current search trends or convert website visitors into buyers have powerful free tools at their finger tips like Google Analytics, Website Optimiser and Insights for Search.”

Online retail market:

• Verdict Research has forecasted online retail growth of 18.6% in 2009, the second year of double digit growth.
• Verdict Research latest findings suggest that, excluding internet sales and sales at grocery multiples, retail spending growth on the high street will shrink by over 4%, the largest drop since Verdict's records began in 1965.
• Play.com says it is beating the credit crunch with a 24% jump in sales during the Christmas period compared with last year.
• An Interim Management Statement from Debenhams said the retailer has revealed strong growth online. Debenhams Direct, the online business, continued to grow strongly with year-to-date visitor numbers and sales up 39.2% and 37.4% respectively
• Amazon.com, meanwhile, has not revealed trading numbers but says it enjoyed its best-ever holiday sales this year — despite overall online spending falling in the US. More than 6.3 million items were ordered worldwide on Monday 15 December, its peak day.
• Sainsbury's saw online sales grow by 27% in the last quarter of 2008 in results that saw overall like-for-like sales up by 4.5%, excluding fuel, over the period.
• Marks & Spencer's online sales increased 29% during the third quarter of its financial year despite the economic downturn and a like-for-like UK sales fall of 7.1%
• Christmas trading results from high street fashion retailer Next showed its stores had seen a like-for-like decrease in sales of 7%, while the Next Directory, which accounts for 60% of the brand's online sales, saw a 1.1% increase since last year.

The UK opportunity:

• Growth in UK online spending for November surged 26% on October [IMRG/Capgemini, Dec 08]
• Despite difficult conditions, UK growth was up 16% on last year [IMRG/Capgemini, Dec 08]
• Sales of shoes and accessories grew ahead of the Christmas party season, by 32% and 108% respectively [IMRG/Capgemini, Dec 08]
• But the growth in sales of clothes (18%) failed to match this, demonstrating that shoppers may be updating old looks in favour of splashing out on a new wardrobe [IMRG/Capgemini, Dec 08]
• 70% of UK population is now online [internetworldstats.com, June 08]
• UK has 20% of US population, but 60% of its ecommerce market
• 17p in every £1 is spend online in UK [IMRG/Capgemini, July 2008]
• 18.5% of media spending was online in the first half of 2008 in the UK, a 21% year on year increase [IAB, Oct 2008]