Amazon set to secure strong sales this Christmas

Monday, November 28, 2016 - 10:38 by Graham Miller

Amazon has been a mainstay of the market for safe shopping online over the course of more than two decades. And its dominance in the UK looks set to continue in the run up to Christmas 2016, according to the result of a new study from Astound Commerce.

43 per cent of the people questioned in the report said that they would be taking advantage of Amazon’s retail site in order to purchase gifts for friends and family this year. This gives it a bigger share of the market than any other e-commerce firm and shows that even scandals over its tax affairs and working conditions are not enough to dissuade bargain hunting Brits.

While it may seem like Amazon’s reign is set to continue, the survey also revealed that consumers were happy to be coaxed away to other sites, providing the right incentives were in place.

Almost three quarters of respondents said that they would ditch Amazon in favour of a rival if they could get access to lower prices. Forty six per cent said that limited time deals and sale events were also especially appealing at this time of year and would be able to weaken their loyalty.

29 per cent said that they would switch to a different e-commerce site if they could be assured of receiving their items via quicker delivery methods. This relatively low proportion may be due to a lack of urgency associated with online shopping, but is more likely as a result of Amazon’s cornering of the market in terms of same day or even one hour delivery options.

With billions of pounds set to flow through online checkouts this year and e-commerce sales projected to be higher than ever, Amazon’s haul will undoubtedly be impressive.