According to the latest IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index, UK online retail sales are expected to break through the £10 billion barrier for the first time in December as more and more consumers choose to do their Christmas shopping online. However these last few weeks will be critical for retailers as shoppers hold out for the best prices – so monitoring online competitor prices every day will be key.
IMRG expects £10.8 billion will be spent online in December, with Monday December 2nd the busiest day for web shopping, and an estimated spend for the last nine weeks of the year totalling £20.4 billion.
Further research from the British Retail Consortium and KPMG has shown that a record 18.3 percent of non-good purchases were made online in October, an increase of more than 12 percent year-on-year, with shoppers valuing the choice and convenience of shopping online.
This year is predicted to be a very mobile Christmas, with retailers predicting that the number of presents bought online from smartphones and tablets will more than double. According to John Lewis, where more than a quarter of sales now come via the Internet, Christmas will be a tipping point in which ‘the majority of our online sales come from mobile devices.’
However while sales are still rising, the rate of increase is much slower than over the summer months. According to David McCorquodale, head of retail at KPMG, shoppers have seemed reluctant to buy their gifts early and at full price, with many delaying their purchases in the hope that retailers will discount festive goods as Christmas nears.
Whilst shoppers enjoy the choice and convenience that online retail delivers, they are also increasingly taking advantage of the price transparency that eCommerce brings. With the next few weeks a critical time for retailers to boost sales, it will be increasingly important for retailers across all retail categories – most notably consumer electronics – to offer the most competitive price on the market.
To ensure you stay competitive this Christmas, read Profitero’s White Paper to discover the five key reasons why you need to be monitoring your online competitors’ prices, or email us at sales@profitero.com.
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About Profitero
Profitero is the leading global provider of online competitor pricing data. We provide both bricks & mortar and online retailers with their competitors’ prices, promotions and full product assortment information. Profitero’s accurate and timely competitor intelligence enables our customers to make better informed and more profitable pricing decisions, helping them to increase sales as well as margins.
More than 40 global retailers, including Staples, Sam’s Club, Tesco, Waitrose and Ocado, rely on Profitero Price Intelligence to:
Our pricing data can be seamlessly integrated into price optimization solutions such as Blue Yonder, Revionics and IBM DemandTec, to deliver more accurate and effective price optimization. Profitero is also the preferred supplier of online competitor pricing data to Nielsen’s retail customers across more than 100 countries.
To discover how Profitero can help make your pricing smarter, contact us at sales@profitero.com or visit www.profitero.com.
