What you need to know
Online is growing fast, but to treat online retailing as a single homogeneous channel of distribution would be misleading. This report puts online in context. It shows the difference of between store based retailers and pure players and it argues that online is now fully integrated into the way that people shop. But it also makes the point that online is still very young – it is only in the last ten years that most people have started buying online and both consumers and retailers are, to some extent, still feeling their way.
Online is maturing, not just in the sense of market share, but in recognition of what its strengths and weaknesses are. For example, we think that it is no longer possible to expect to generate growth by undercutting stores. Pure player online retailers need to focus on their breadth or range and the convenience of shopping from them. Store based retailers can make online and bricks and mortar stores work together if they focus on everything that makes shopping in store attractive – such as being able to try out / try on the merchandise, retail theatre and service by knowledgeable staff. Stores and online complement each other and consumers will choose the one that suits them best at the time.
Products covered in this report
This report is designed to give an overview of the UK online retail market. We look at all online sales, both from store based retailers and those that only trade online. We include an overview of the market including forecasts for the way the market will develop, in-depth consumer analysis using our own data and a look at the key players in the market in the form of our company profiles.
For our consumer research this year we asked questions on the following topics:
Which devices consumers used to shop online in the last 12 months and whether they were used at home or out-of-home.
The types of products ever purchased online.
The retailers used for online shopping in the last 12 months.
Attitudes to personalisation.
Attitudes to using social media in online shopping.
Attitudes to delivery costs and the use of click & collect.
Attitudes to pricing.
How people shop online and why they seem to spend less when they shop online.
