Triple-Digit Growth for Online Shopping Reported

Tuesday, June 9, 2020 - 16:10 by Simon Crisp

May was another stellar month for safe shopping online, with sales spiking by just under 130 per cent according to the latest figures published by BDO.

In stark contrast to this increase, bricks and mortar retails saw a serious downturn in sales of 87.1 per cent, reflecting the fact that many non-essential stores up and down the country were closed in line with lockdown measures put in place by the government to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Interestingly, the effects of the pandemic have been less significant at out of town retail parks, even if the drop-off in footfall was still severe compared to normal trading periods.

As well as more people making online purchases overall, analysts found that the total amount spent on homeware products via e-commerce sites was 73.7 per cent greater than during the same month in 2019. This is representative of the fact that millions of Brits were given no choice but to stay at home for work and leisure alike, spurring on a spree of spending on associated products.

Unsurprisingly, this is yet another study which indicates that fashion is suffering in the current crisis, with sales dipping by almost a quarter and limited optimism about whether this will improve in the short term.

The report’s authors went on to point out that retailers of various kinds were encountering cash flow complications at the moment and that this would create the biggest obstacles going forward, according to Internet Retailing.

It is not just a challenge for companies to stay afloat from the perspective of managing and maintaining supply chains at a time when sales have slumped. It’s also difficult for high street outlets to adapt so that they can safely reopen as lockdown li