With mince pies now a distant memory, and wrapping paper long since discarded, the fruits of the record breaking 2010 online sales have been reaped, counted and celebrated as figures came in amidst frantic January sales.
But what made this another record breaking year, and did it meet the high pre-season expectations? Well, one of the bigger winners was John Lewis. The 'Mega Monday' promotion was the biggest day in its online history, with web sales up 45% in the week that finished on the 11th of December.
According to TeaLeaf, experts in researching customer experiences:
These high growth figures we never really in doubt, as pre-empted in my previous post, though these figures still generally superseded some of the highest expectations in growth. This could easily be linked to the snow that gripped most of the country throughout much of December, making it more difficult for consumers to get out and shop in the high streets, encouraging a declining group of those who have remained un-enamoured about online shopping to reconsider. However, as Christmas drew nearer, there were concerns that goods would not be able to be delivered on time, putting pressure on consumers to be sure of getting their purchases by making it to the high street instead.
One thing that is still perhaps surprising is that there is still such a high rate of shoppers facing problems with web shops. Unsurprisingly however is the high abandonment rate that goes with this - with such a plethora of competing sites just a click away, consumers are understandably unwilling to risk their card details with a potentially spurious store or payment gateway when they can go elsewhere so easily.
Further food for thought from eDigital Research:
As we stride into 2011, we hear news that the UK Government is promising every community access to superfast broadband services by 2015 - a sure sign of the times and trends. And the prevalence of smart phones begin their ascent into the world of e-commerce, hosting shopping platforms, capable of scanning bar-code in store, comparing prices in an instant and often showing consumers a better deal, mobile shopping, otherwise known as m-commerce, is going to drastically re-shape the payments and e-commerce landscape for next year's Christmas rush. The consumer has never been so well equipped, and in such a fast growing industry, no merchant can be complacent and expect sit back and ride the wave of success - who keeps up with these developments, using initiative and foresight will be the one repeating success in the years to come.
Dan Robertson
But what made this another record breaking year, and did it meet the high pre-season expectations? Well, one of the bigger winners was John Lewis. The 'Mega Monday' promotion was the biggest day in its online history, with web sales up 45% in the week that finished on the 11th of December.
According to TeaLeaf, experts in researching customer experiences:
- 44% of Britain’s online adult population upped their online spending this Christmas compared to 2009, pushing the total amount spent online to £2.8bn.
- 45% of those who shopped online encountered website problems while doing their Christmas shopping, and 32% abandoned purchases as a result.
These high growth figures we never really in doubt, as pre-empted in my previous post, though these figures still generally superseded some of the highest expectations in growth. This could easily be linked to the snow that gripped most of the country throughout much of December, making it more difficult for consumers to get out and shop in the high streets, encouraging a declining group of those who have remained un-enamoured about online shopping to reconsider. However, as Christmas drew nearer, there were concerns that goods would not be able to be delivered on time, putting pressure on consumers to be sure of getting their purchases by making it to the high street instead.
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| The benefits of shopping online were all to clear last year... if you put your order in early enough that is... |
One thing that is still perhaps surprising is that there is still such a high rate of shoppers facing problems with web shops. Unsurprisingly however is the high abandonment rate that goes with this - with such a plethora of competing sites just a click away, consumers are understandably unwilling to risk their card details with a potentially spurious store or payment gateway when they can go elsewhere so easily.
Further food for thought from eDigital Research:
- 86% of UK consumers logged onto the internet over Christmas Day and Boxing Day this year, an increase of over 10% when compared with figures from 2009.
- 22% of online users accessed the internet on their phones, confirming the importance of mobile commerce for retailers.
- 30% of online consumers used the internet to shop online on Boxing Day, while 62% of online consumers shopped for sale items and discounted products across the two days.
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| The power of m-commerce - destined to shape the future for trends in consumer shopping |
As we stride into 2011, we hear news that the UK Government is promising every community access to superfast broadband services by 2015 - a sure sign of the times and trends. And the prevalence of smart phones begin their ascent into the world of e-commerce, hosting shopping platforms, capable of scanning bar-code in store, comparing prices in an instant and often showing consumers a better deal, mobile shopping, otherwise known as m-commerce, is going to drastically re-shape the payments and e-commerce landscape for next year's Christmas rush. The consumer has never been so well equipped, and in such a fast growing industry, no merchant can be complacent and expect sit back and ride the wave of success - who keeps up with these developments, using initiative and foresight will be the one repeating success in the years to come.
Dan Robertson
