Online sales grew in July as store sales fell – despite desperate discount offers from retailers
Online sales performed well in the past three months, but store sales declined as retailers struggled to lure shoppers onto the high street with discount deals.
In the three months to July, the online sales of non-food products grew 11.1 per cent as compared to the same period last year, according to research by the British Retail Consortium and KPMG.
Online sales accounted for 20.4 per cent of non-food sales across the UK, increasing its share slightly from 19.4 per cent in July 2015.
Store sales fell, deflating by one per cent in total over the same period, and by 1.3 per cent on a like-for-like basis. This was despite the best efforts of retailers with summer sales, with many offering up to 70 per cent off items in July; Sports Direct put on a "flash sale" with as much as 90 per cent off.
The BRC and KPMG said the rate of decline in store sales did ease off, however.
David McCorquodale, head of retail at KPMG said that while online retail remains a key outlet for retailers, they must "ensure consistency of experience across all channels" to keep the attraction of both the virtual and physical stores.
Helen Dickinson, BRC's chief executive, said: "Online (non-food) sales echoed the performance of total sales this month, with growth rising back to the 12 month average.
"The brief drop-off in online sales activity in the few days following the referendum turned out to be a blip as consumers, who had turned their attentions to browsing for details about the EU, quickly returned to spending online."