// First week of stay at home guidance leads to mixed online sales results
// In week commencing March 15, week 1 of the government’s isolation guidance, online retail sales growth was down 2.2%
// However, week-on-week growth was up 5.7%
New data has shown that the government’s stay at home guidance issued before the lockdown due to coronavirus led to a mixed bag of online retail sales.
According to the Online Retail Index from IMRG and Capgemini, the week commencing March 15 saw online retails sales decline by 2.2 per cent year-on-year.
However, in a possible nod to online stockpiling, week-on-week online sales spiked by 5.7 per cent.
READ MORE: Online sales flat in month before coronavirus crisis hitting UK
As the government’s stay at home guidance kicked for that week, one of three standout categories was health and beauty, which saw sales grow 31.6 per cent year-on-year, or 7.3 per cent on a week-on-week basis.
Online sales of electricals also surged by 42.4 per cent year-on-year or 43 per cent week-on-week, as Brits rushed to buy home office equipment, games consoles and freezers to cope with an extended stay at home.
IMRG and Capgemini also suggested that the demand for home improvement products perhaps contributed to a 13.8 per cent year-on-year, or 10 per cent week-on-week, uptick in online sales for home and garden.
On the other end of the spectrum, clothing saw its sales fall through the floor, with growth plummeting by 26.7 per cent year-on-year, or dropping 22 per cent week-on-week.
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