Rush online for the shopper looking for discounts and rewards

InternetRetailing reports that there is a strong move towards the online channel by shoppers looking for discounts and rewards. The latest IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index revealed that in September shoppers in the UK spent £4.8bn online – an average of £79 per person – up 24% from September last year. However at the same time, as reported by the British Retail Consortium in their retail sales index, high street sales have dropped by 0.4%. While high street sales are down, the BRC also reports a hefty 19.1% growth in online sales, mostly driven by shoppers looking for discounts, rewards and promotions. According to IMRG’s director of information Tina Spooner, despite a continuing decline in consumer confidence, the online retail market is growing ahead of their expectations, with a double digit rise in yearly sales recorded in each quarter of 2010. Concerns over the impending Government spending cuts, VAT increase and job security, together with falling average households’ disposable income, are all contributing to driving this positive e-retail performance as the shopper turns to online retailers to secure the best discounts and rewards.

Online Shopper To be Wooed By Rewards For Loyalty Not Discounts

According to retail research from Verdict reported by Marketing Magazine, the average online shopper is expected to be wooed away from aggressive selling via discount products as retailers shift to loyalty based marketing methods and the use of rewards schemes to sustain repeat purchases. As a result, the number of new shoppers heading online is set to slow. That said, it is not all bleak news for the online retail sector and continued investment in shopper retention and growth is expected to reap significant rewards. According to Verdict the number of online shoppers will rise to 32.5 million in 2014 – which according to current figures is an increase of four million new online shoppers. But retailers may still need to initially lure in these shoppers with discounts and rewards as Verdict claims that the current trend is for them to spread their spend more widely across a range of websites. Malcolm Pinkerton, senior retail analyst at Verdict said the number of shoppers online is becoming “highly saturated”. Online retailers need to develop more sophisticated strategies to attract the shopper looking for discounts and rewards. He added: “Retailers will have to change and evolve their online strategies. Driving loyalty and increasing spend per head across all age groups will become vital factors to ensure growth.”

Online shoppers for discounts and rewards spent £5billion in July

The latest IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index revealed that shoppers looking online for discounts and rewards spent £5bn in July, writes Internet Retailing.

A spending rise of 14% compared to June meant that Britons spent an average of £81 a month online as shoppers responded to sales promotion to find discounts and rewards online. The greatest year-on-year growth was seen in accessories with 64%, lingerie with 31%, gifts 26% and travel 18%. The growth in the travel sector was thought to be caused by a combination of bad weather and large holiday discounts.

A consistent trend is that of multichannel retailers performing better than online-only retailers with a growth rate of 18% compared to 8%. Similarly, multichannel retailers prove better at converting browsers into shoppers with a conversion rate of 4.49% compared to 4.35% for online-only retailers.

When asked for comment, Chris Webster, head of retail consulting and technology at Capgemini, said that although online retail sales survived the recession more convincingly than high street sales, the last two years or so have been shaky at times. However, he is encouraged to see growth levels returning to those of pre-2007 and before the confidence of shoppers looking online for discounts and rewards was knocked by the financial crisis and recession.

David Smith, managing director of IMRG, added that with over half of the UK population online at least once a day it is no surprise that shoppers look for discounts and rewards online and sales continue to grow impressively year on year. He stated the evidence mounts that high street retailers will need to invest more in their online business and put it at the heart of their retail strategy. Online retailers, on the other hand, will need to continue to innovate as they strive to close the growth gap.

A decade of rewards for e-tailers as shoppers benefit from discounts online

According to the recent IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index, UK shoppers spent a staggering £250 billion online in the last decade, spurred on by the rewards of the wealth of discounts online shopping offers.

The report details how the average UK shopper is continuing its love affair with online retail with key sectors seeing seasonal spikes in sales. Retailers selling beers, wines and spirits online see the rewards of increased sales in line with the success of the English football team in major tournaments. Sales of clothing has increased due to rich media imagery which enables shoppers to see in detail the items they wish to buy and the home and garden sector is the latest to see sales explode. In line with the recent house market slump, discounts on home and garden items has helped drive sales to dizzy heights.

IMRG Chief Executive James Roper’s attributed the ease of use, convenience and discounts available as the reason why the UK shopper sees internet retail as having so many rewards and why they are so passionate about it. Roper also went onto to predict that by 2020 the internet will ‘account for half of all retail sales and influence most of the other half’.

Chris Webster, Vice President, Retail Consulting and Technology, Capgemini also commented on the strong relationship between online retail and the UK shopper. He believes that the average shopper has, over the last decade, completely changed their shopping habits with the internet being the first port of call for many consumers looking for the best discounts. In return, online retailers have provided compelling rewards in the form of discounts and other promotions in order to keep shoppers enticed. Webster also stated that the challenge for the next ten years will be for e-retailers to increase their share of the market even further and come up with new ways to extend brand loyalty.

Going to a music festival? Shoppers for discounts are sure to reap the rewards

Going to one of the many festivals this summer but worried about breaking the bank? The Guardian has a useful list for the shopper that is willing to search for deals, discounts and rewards.

The ticket to the festival may not come cheap but shoppers for discounts on festival clothes, shoes, tents and maps are certain to find the money-saving rewards to offset the high ticket price.

Additionally, smart shoppers should look for discounts on travel tickets by buying them in advance in order to secure additional benefits and rewards. Just as smart is getting cash out in advance. Not having to join massive queues for cash machines or paying £2 per withdrawal are major rewards for a little forward thinking.

Shopper confidence slowly improving

The PayPal Online Retail report 2010 claims that consumer confidence is slowly improving with the average shopper expecting to increase their spending in 2010. Whilst online retailers will see rewards in increased spending, some consumers will still remain cautious and continue to actively seek out online discounts and cash back rewards on select purchases.

The research identified two types of shoppers: young, child free optimists and cautious families and retired people. The young shopper was more likely to reward themselves with ‘treats’ whereas the older generation and family will be the type of shopper most concerned with seeking out discounts on their favourite items.

PayPal UK managing director Carl Scheible commented that the British recovery will see rewards from this increase in spending: “A sense of creeping optimism is growing amongst shoppers, which can only boost Britain’s fragile economic recovery.

PayPal also claims that the research also suggests that whist we may see the average online shopper spend more on clothes and essentials like groceries during 2010, many shoppers will continue to look for discounts and cash back rewards until more stable economic times.

March another growth month for online shoppers

March was another growth month for the online shopper looking for discounts and rewards. InternetRetailing reports that the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index reveals around £4.5bn was spent online in March, up 15% from March last year.

Clothes retailers saw a 27% rise in sales due to shoppers looking for online discounts and rewards on new wardrobes to suit the warm weather. Even faster growth occurred in the footwear and accessories sector with 58% and 55% respectively.

Meanwhile, Office for National Statistics UK Retail data revealed that overall retail sales have grown by only 4.4% in March, suggesting that an average shopper on the lookout for discounts is increasingly favouring the online channel over the high street.

March online shopper sales growth boosted by discounts and rewards

Online sales continued their growth in March, according to the latest BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor and reported by InternetRetailing.

The figures show that online, mail and phone sales in March were 15.9% higher than a year ago compared with 15.5% in February. However, findings suggest growth is driven by discounts and rewards.

Helen Dickinson, head of retail at KPMG, added: “Retailers are fighting hard to encourage shoppers and offer value, which has slowed the rise in shop prices over the month, but how long they will be able to sustain this, given the pressure on margins, is debatable.”

Stephen Robertson, Director General, British Retail Consortium, added: “This is good growth – the best since December and like store sales of non-food goods, online sales growth is improving. Online sales growth is well up on last March, though often discounts and rewards driven. While shoppers are still nervous, they’re more willing to spend than a year ago when we were still mired in recession. Non-store retailing is consistently achieving double-digit growth, and slowly taking a bigger share of overall retailing, but still only represents six per cent of all retail sales.”

A sign that the uncertainty about the economic outlook plays a big role in the habits of the shopper looking for discounts and rewards is that the biggest growth is in essentials such as homewares while clothing and footware slowed. If you have to buy something, you might as well make it as easy and cheap as possible by shopping online and looking for discounts.

Online shopper numbers were up in February

InternetRetailing reports that during February, the average spend per online shopper increased for the first time this year. While January was a very quiet month, with many shoppers holding back on spending on high value items and instead choosing to wait for the right online discounts and cash back rewards, the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index shows the online shopper spent 13% more in February.

Valentines’ Day added to February’s recovery with shoppers specifically looking for online discounts and cash back rewards on lingerie and beauty items. This sector has shown a strong growth rate of 30% and 25% annually.

Chris Webster, Vice President, Retail Consulting and Technology, Capgemini, highlighted the fact that Valentine’s day reaped rewards for the online retail sector as shoppers hit the web to purchase a variety of Valentine’s day related goods and items: “It is reassuring to see that romance hasn’t been lost in the recession, and shoppers clearly haven’t lost the love for online retail. The growth of less traditional sectors in February paints an optimistic picture of consumers picking themselves up following the doom and gloom of the last couple of years. Despite online retail’s maturity, it is still showing strong growth levels of 13%”.

Tina Spooner, Director of Information at IMRG also commented on how retailers were rewarded through the Valentine’s season: “The double-digit growth in the Index during February is in line with our predictions for the e-retail market. Although overall gift sales declined last month, sales of health and beauty products and lingerie were strong in the run up to Valentine’s Day, which shows that the celebration of the most romantic day of the year is significant in the online retail calendar.” – clearly a sign that most shoppers were willing to spend money on the ones they love, even if purchasing these items online meant that they spent less than they normally would.

The average online shopper is still very attached to brick and mortar stores. This is clear from the faster growth of multi-channel sales, up 25% year on year, over online-only stores, up 4% year on year. That said, online is still the destination of choice for the shopper who prefers to invest more time researching a variety of different retailers and online outlets in order to access the biggest discounts and best cash back rewards.

Online shopper spent less after Christmas surge

Despite a growing trend amongst savvy online shoppers towards investing more of their time tracking down online discounts and cash back rewards, the online sector was hit by a double whammy in January. In addition to the usual start of year slump that most online retailers experience, the latest IMRG Capgemini e-retail sales index claims that the situation was made worse by a substantial number of the regular online shopper abstaining from spending during the same month despite the wealth of new year discounts offered by online retailers as a reward for dipping into their wallets at this often difficult time of year.

ITPro reported that about £4.3 billion was spent online at the start of the year as the average online shopper turned to the internet to leverage the wealth of product discounts and cash back rewards offered throughout January. And whilst this relates to annual growth of 5% year on year, it is a record low since the index began tracking.

Chris Webster, vice president of retail consulting and technology at Capgemini, provides a theory on the change. “Last January, e-retailers’ sales were buoyed up by heavy discounts and promotions that were necessary to sell stock left over from poor Christmas trading resulting from the impact of the recent move into recession,” he said.

Tina Spooner, Director of Information of the IMRG thinks the VAT increase and well-stocked retailers without promotions, discounts or cash back rewards have played a role in the decline.

Online shopper sales fell by 22% from December 2009 to January 2010, but Spooner comments that December was a strong month for sales overall. The 26th and 27th of December had the highest sales numbers for all of 2009.