Are UK shoppers falling out of love with the internet?

The parcel and home delivery experts ParcelCompare says the growth in internet sales, which have been propping up retail for many months, fell back sharply in January with year on year growth of just 9.1% – e-commerce was growing at 19.2% in January 2017.

David Jinks, head of consumer research, MILT said:

“At first sight internet sales are certainly losing their lustre. Today’s Office of National Statistics Retail Sales figures show e-commerce accounted for 16.5% of all UK retail sales in January, down from 18% in December.”

And there was also a decline in online average spend in January compared to December.

David said:

“Is Britain falling out of love with online shopping? The seasonally adjusted average weekly spending online decreased in January 2018 to £1,175.4m compared with the £1,209.6m reported in December 2017.

“Before the High Street starts heaving a sigh of relief, remember that in January 2017 online ecommerce sales were only 15.8% of total sales, so the relentless rise in e-commerce is still continuing, albeit at a slower pace this month.

“Britain’s shoppers are pulling in their horns in general, with just a 1.6% growth in overall High Street sales volumes in January – so the online sales growth of 9.1% YOY is still ahead of brick and mortar growth. We will certainly be awaiting the next figures keenly, but we expect to see a rise in online sales as a percentage of overall spend in February, as things return to normal post-Christmas.”