Online retail sales grow 16 per cent year-on-year

Online sales have seen a strong start in 2013 with the latest data revealing a 16 per cent year-on- year jump in the New Year’s online retail market.
The research comes from IMRG and the Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index, which has also forecast the trend to continue through the year as the online retail market increases by 12 per cent.
Tina Spooner, chief information officer at IMRG, commented: “The strong finish to the year we saw in 2012 has continued into the new year it seems, with the Index up 16 per cent in January 2012.”
In addition to the overall growth of online sales, IMRG’s latest report indicates that consumers are increasingly using their mobile devices when it comes to shopping online.
Whilst the growth rate of sales via mobile devices and tablet PCs has shown signs of slowing down – with data from IMRG recording online sales through mobile devices to have grown by 304 per cent across 2012 – they have maintained steady growth with a rise to 193 per cent to kick off the New Year.
“The growth of mobile sales may be showing signs of slowing, but it is coming from a very high base and 193 per cent is still very strong.
What is apparent is that consumers are becoming more confident in purchasing through mobile devices, as the experience on mobile sites improves,” continued Spooner.
Capegemini’s vice president of consumer products, Chris Webster, warned against mistaking the slowed growth as a decline, as mobile shopping continues to gain momentum amongst shoppers.
“More of us are seeing our smart phones and tablets as the smarter choice for shopping, with the proportion of direct purchases from mobile devices doubling in the space of a year,” said Webster.
“Growth may be slowing as mobile shopping becomes ubiquitous, but don’t mistake this for a decline. Mobile commerce is here to stay.
“We’re no longer just seeing consumers shopping from their sofas at home, but instead spotting products in store and choosing to instead purchase online on the grounds of cost or convenience,” Webster summarised.

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