New results published today have revealed online sales grew 16 per cent last month compared to last year.
The IMRG Capgemeni eRetail Sales Index for August which show that year-on-year sales reached £9.8 billion online for the month.
In 2015 August‘s online growth was just five per cent, highlighting massive strides for online retailers.
Hot weather was seen as a cause of the strong performance as shoppers continued to purchase summer items, with a year-on-year rise of 20 per cent in the clothing sector and 48 per cent in accessories.
Other hot weather sale items like alcohol rose by four per cent, the most since march 2016, as well as garden sectors increasing by a 25 per cent.
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Despite speculation that the adoption of smartphone sales could have been overestimated, the index has shown an 18.5 per cent year-on-year increase of smartphone sales, up to 49.5 per cent from 31 per cent last August.
“It‘s reassuring to see consumer confidence remain buoyant – a growth of 16% on the year is extremely strong. Mobile continues to impress with a near even split between traffic from mobile and desktop,” Capgemeni management consultant Bhavesh Unadkat said.
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“However, the more interesting element is how conversion from smartphones continue to increase, it was under one per cent last year and is now nearly two per cent.
“Soon it will double again, and if retailers can hold their traffic and drive that level of conversion then it will not be long before mobile overtakes desktop in online sales.”
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