E-commerce helps to boost John Lewis sales

Friday, August 10, 2012 - 10:48 by Mike Price

E-commerce is becoming an increasingly important asset for high street retailers, which is a fact proven by the latest figures published by John Lewis.

In the first half of 2012, John Lewis saw a 40 per cent rise in the number of sales it was able to make via safe shopping online.

As well as seeing increased popularity across all of its product categories online, John Lewis actually managed to improve the proportion of the visitors to its site who eventually went on to buy something.

It is this ability to clinch a sale via safe shopping online that makes all the difference, because other retailers which have lots of visitors but only convert a small proportion into customers, are less likely to succeed.

Spokesperson, Andy Street, explained that part of John Lewis' impressive e-commerce performance had to be put down to its infrastructure of distribution and delivery services, which helped to get products to customers as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Sales across John Lewis grew by just under 13 per cent in the first six months of the year. Electronic items led the charge, with sales up by 30 per cent, when compared with the same period in 2011.

Despite the rainy summer months, John Lewis still managed to increase sales in its fashion department by seven per cent.

E-commerce has clearly played an important role in John Lewis' growth so far in 2012, establishing it as a true multichannel retailer which is able to appeal to consumers, both on the high street and online.

Mr Street said that the firm had been able to build up the kind of momentum that would bode well for its performance during the rest of the year, with online shopping still seen as a core part of the business.