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Christmas
On-Line Shopping Booms in 2005 |
January
2006 Headlines From IMRG
Include:
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| One Million Christmas shoppers
at Tesco.com |
| Online sales soar 45% at Sainsbury's |
| E-Christmas: Retail's New Order |
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The growth
in internet shopping over the 2005 Christmas period continues
on from Chrstmas 2004 when Actinic's
poll recorded a 60% growth over 2003. Shoppers spent £4.98bn
online during the 2005 Christmas period compared with £3.3bn
for the same period in 2004, according to e-commerce trade
body IMRG. |
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Jo Tucker,
IMRG's MD who directs the IMRG Index programme commented:
"A step change happened in retailing at Christmas.
Consumers have spoken. They want the convenience and choice
that online shopping provides. Many just don't have time to
trudge the streets hoping goods are in stock. There can no
longer be any doubt that the internet is a major part of the
retail landscape, and that it will dominate the retail agenda
for the next several years" |
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Internet
shopping peaked during the week commencing 5th December 2005,
when £653 million was spent online. There is a lesson
here for newcomers to e-trading - ensure that your website
is fully functional well before the Christmas period - leave
it too late and you will miss the boat. |
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According
to IMRG, 24 million British consumers shopped online in 2005,
spending on average £816 each during the year, and £208
in the run up to Christmas. IMRG are predicting that the growth
in e-trading will continue unabated during 2006, and should
reach £26bn for the calendar year, with shoppers averaging
more than £1000 during the year. |
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The 2005
boom comes at a time when traditional high street retailers
experienced mixed fortunes over the Christmas period. Supemarkets,
such as Tesco (1 million Christmas shoppers) and Sainsbury
(up 45% during 2005) and Marks and Spencer dis well, while
others, such as Next and HMV did less well. The internet should
not be viewed as a threat to the high street. Instead, high
street retailers need to embrace this new channel. |
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If your
retail business has not yet established a presence on the
internet, then why not make 2006 the year to start? But remember,
your site needs to be well promoted otherwise no-one will
know that you exist. There are lots of ways to inform your
bricks and mortar customers about your new website and there
are some very effective ways to ensure that internet shoppers
find your products. |
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Here is an example of a new
website, developed for Christmas 2005, in the outdoor clothing
and equipment field, which is showing very steady sales
development through a combination of local promotion, email
marketing and the use of internet shopping search engines.
You can view the January 2006 marketing Newsletter.
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