IMRG – High street sales drop while online gains big wins

2008, cap, capgemini, eretail, gemini, imrg, index, sales

A good report from the Capgemini and IMRG guys recently, (don’t know why they have to do the report together -maybe holding hands so they don’t get scared!), stating that online sales are now accounting for 17% of all retail sales and that this is predicted to rise to between 30% and 50% in the next five years. This is huge!

Not only do high street retailers have to start thinking about how this affects their business models – they have to do so soon as the credit crunch hits the high street and pushes even more people online. Fuel prices, convenience, cost savings, and cold dark weather are all factors influencing the shift.

James Roper, IMRG’s Chief Executive is quoted as saying “Clothing and footwear sales were the biggest losers in physical stores in June with sales flat or lower despite heavy discounting”. In fact, we’ve seen stores like Black trying out 50% discounts right now to stack them high and sell them cheap – smacking of desperation perhaps? He goes on to say “Online, internet clothing sales were up to 32% and footwear rose by 38%.”

In fact, with things like free delivery and Zero Hassle returns, high resolution multi-angle images, and a nice shopping experience at sites like Webtogs – is there any more reasons NOT to shop online?