UK online retail sales fall 27% in February

According to foreign media reports, online retail in the UK fell 27% year-on-year in February , lower than the level recorded in January , but there are signs that consumption patterns have returned to "normal".

The decline in online retail sales in February meant it was the lowest -grossing month on record , according to the IMRG Capgemini Online Retail Index , which tracks the online sales performance of more than 200 retailers , after a 60% increase in February 2021 .

However, the report also pointed out that if the data from February 2020 and February 2022 are compared , this year 's online sales are actually 16.1% higher than before the epidemic began .

At the category level, women's and men's clothing grew by 25.7% and 17% respectively , but the overall clothing was dragged down by accessories and underwear sales and remained in a negative growth state. Similarly, compared with last year's data, footwear, men's and women's clothing were the only categories to achieve year-on- year positive growth , while home furnishings fell by 37.7% and garden furniture fell by 34.1% , the two categories with the largest declines.

In addition, according to NielsenIQ data, the online share of fast-moving consumer goods sales fell back to 12.5% ​​in February, and sales fell 20% from the same period last year. In contrast, store visits increased by 12%, and sales in physical stores were boosted.

Lucy Gibbs, Managing Consultant, Head of Analytics & AI Retail at Capgemini, commented that this month, orders were down 39% compared to last year ; an increase in basket value made up the difference. This was mainly driven by the home, garden and electrical categories . He also said that despite the negative year-on-year growth, it was still above pre-pandemic levels ...

Andy Mulcahy, director of strategy and insight at IMRG , added that the pandemic in 2020 and 2021 has caused unprecedented disruption to the market , and it is sometimes difficult to understand the dramatic fluctuations in online growth . After growing by 60% in February last year , the market hit a record low this year , but overall online revenue has increased compared to before the pandemic.

In recent years, due to the impact of the epidemic, the sales of many physical stores have been hit, but as the epidemic has eased, they have gradually resumed growth. In terms of consumption patterns, online and offline parallel operations have become the "norm."

U.K.

Online Retail

February