Ecommerce sales grew at the slowest rate on record in February, facing tough comparables from last year’s figures when the UK was in lockdown.
The rate of online retail growth dropped to -27% year on year last month, according to the IMRG Capgemini Online Retail Index.
This marked a further drop from January, which saw sales fall by 24% – the lowest rate of growth ever recorded by the index since it began tracking online sales 22 years ago.
While growth appears to have slowed significantly in February, last month’s online spend faced tough comparables to February 2021 when sales increased by 60%, the highest growth ever recorded by the index.
Comparisons between February 2020 and February 2022 illustrate that online sales are now 16.1% higher than pre-pandemic figures.
Despite an elevation from pre-pandemic levels, the month-on-month decline of 7.7% may also hint at a return to a normal cycle of online spending habits, according to the index.
It has typically recorded an average decrease of 3-5% for the period between January and February.
Womenswear and menswear recorded strong growth in February, with sales rising 25.7% and 17% respectively. These figures, as well as footwear, were the only categories to record positive year-on-year growth last month.
Despite clothing demand, lingerie sales fell by 28.3%, while accessories also recorded a decline of 13.3% last month.
Homewares also recorded a drop in demand, with sales falling by 37.7%, while garden furniture sales decreased by 34.1%.
IMRG strategy and insight director Andy Mulcahy said: “The unprecedented disruption from the lockdowns in 2020 and 2021 has made understanding the wild fluctuations in online growth difficult at times; +60% growth in February last year was followed by a record low this year, but overall online revenues are way up on where they were pre-pandemic.”
“Now, for the first time since it began, the trading patterns between months have looked settled for a few consecutive months, which tells us the online/offline split is probably now set at the much-feted ‘new normal’.”
Capgemini senior manager Lucy Gibbs added: “This month, orders dropped further than revenue at -39% vs last year; an increase in basket value makes up the difference.
“This is largely driven by home, garden and electrical categories, which, despite negative year-on-year growth, continue to outperform pre-pandemic levels. The increase here is likely to be twofold, the basket value increase could be an early indicator of price increase, particularly in electricals where scarcity of materials and supply chain disruption effects are more acute.”
“However, research suggests that home improvement trends accelerated by lockdowns are continuing to create demand into 2022. Other trends and longer-term impacts are starting to be understood as we emerge from the pandemic, two years on from the initial lockdowns in March 2020.
“Agility, resilience and adaptability will remain key to navigate disruptions, increased costs and rising inflation.”
No comments yet