The newest IMRG e-Retail Survey shows that nine out of ten fashion retailers now offer international delivery. Why? Because most are receiving an unprecedented number of orders online from customers across the global landscape.
What’s more, retailers report a record number of online purchases originated from consumers on their mobile devices. As many as 11% of retailers said they expect over 50% of online sales to be made on a smartphone or tablet device by the end of this year.
Helping to augment the ease with which consumers purchase goods online and via their mobile devices, more than two-thirds (67%) of multichannel retailers now offer Click & Collect, up from 54% in October 2013.
Tina Spooner, Chief Information Officer at IMRG, says mobile “continues to dominate the e-retail landscape, with sales via mobile devices now accounting for a third of UK e-retail sales.”
The latest survey results also reveal that mobile has a key part to play in the multichannel retail environment, with three-quarters of high street / multichannel retailers now having a mobile-optimized website, compared with just over half of pureplay merchants.
“With an increasing number of consumers now using their mobile devices to browse and compare products while in-store, it is no surprise that mobile has become an integral part of retailers’ multichannel strategies,” Spooner adds. “Our latest survey results also reveal an increasing optimism among retailers around their expectations of online sales growth during 2014. While almost all merchants surveyed said they expect to see positive year-on-year sales growth, a significant proportion (42%) forecast sales growth to reach in excess of 20%”
