UK e-commerce sales fall 10%, labour shortages may affect deliveries

With the opening of offline activities in the UK and the increase in vaccination rates, people have more opportunities to shop in physical stores. According to the latest statistics, in the month before August 14, the traffic of British consumers in physical supermarkets increased by 50 million, which directly led to a 10% drop in online sales .

Despite the decline in online penetration, the survey said that e-commerce channels remain a popular medium for British shoppers, with e-commerce spending reaching about £1.1 billion during the period. And the current online penetration rate is about 12.7%, still close to the peak of 13.4% in May last year.

As life gradually returns to normal, the decline in online sales is expected, but consumers have already developed the habit of online shopping, and recent surveys have also shown that the UK is the country with the highest online shopping expenditure in the world. Although it cannot reach the peak sales volume at the beginning of the epidemic, it still has a stable market.

In addition, the UK is facing a serious labor shortage . According to the latest statistics, there are currently about 1.65 million vacancies in the UK, and recruitment advertisements on various platforms are close to record levels, including warehouse and truck personnel related to e-commerce.

To cope with the shortage of warehouse staff during the peak season, Amazon said it would provide new employees with a £1,000 signing bonus and various overtime allowances.

The shortage of truck drivers is a problem in many European countries, with the UK in a particularly difficult position due to Brexit. And as concerns about the lockdown grow, many European workers have left their jobs during the pandemic, coupled with obstacles to new driver exams, the UK is currently short of about 100,000 drivers.

This is also a challenge for sellers. Only by understanding the market situation can they seize more market share. For example, the diversification of payment methods. Due to the mismatch of payment methods, online sellers in the UK lose more than 1.8 billion pounds each year. In addition to PayPal, which is the most popular payment method in the local area , sellers should also try to diversify payment methods.

Shoppers' consumption preferences are always changing, and sellers should also pay more attention to the latest developments in the local market and be adequately prepared.

U.K.

Cross-border e-commerce

Europe