Comment: Was it an online Christmas?

It’s clear that online sales accelerated quite considerably over Christmas.

John Lewis saw sales online at Christmas increase by 44% and House of Fraser by 48% over 2011.

However, it’s important to note that multichannel retailers who offer the customer a cross channel ‘shop any way you want’ approach, such as the aforementioned, have seen some of the biggest increases in sales performance.

This can also be evidenced by a 25% increase in purchases through mobile on Boxing Day.

Online sales stepped up by 45% on Boxing Day compared to 2011.

There was also a huge increase in traffic. Stats from Experian Hitwise show that consumers made 84 million visits to retail websites on Christmas Eve and 107 million visits on Christmas Day. An increase of 86% and 71% respectively compared to 2011.

I believe that this huge increase in traffic and sales is in part driven by the fact we’re seeing the ‘late majority’ of consumers, or the laggards as you might call them, now beginning to shop online.

As this segment’s propensity to shop online increases, combined with more retailers implementing click and collect, and mobile compatible sites etc, we’re going to see the upward sales trend continue.

Irrespective of whose stats you subscribe to, online has a long way to go. According to Boston Consulting Group, online sales will represent 23% of total retail sales in the UK by 2016, according to Verdict, online accounts for around 11% of total retail now.