Lockdown E-Commerce: Facts & Figures

The growing acceleration of internet sales has been further boosted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a trend that looks set to keep on growing. In this edition of the Brickweb blog, we look at some of the emerging data relating to this surge in e-commerce.

The authoritative Office for National Statistics revealed that internet sales (as a percentage of total retail sales) shot up when the UK went into lockdown towards the end of March. By July, e-commerce sales accounted for more than 28% of total retail sales, a figure that represents seven percentage points of share greater than that recorded during the November 2019 peak.

According to data from Edge by Ascential, a respected retail insights company, the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to boost the e-commerce market in the UK by adding a massive £5.3 billion in sales for 2020: this brings the total market volume to almost £79 billion. The original forecast for 2020 was for a sales volume of £73.6 billion. In 2019, the sales volume figure was just £66.3 billion and so the new 2020 figure will show a growth of 19%.

The onset of lockdown and social distancing measures limited access to non-home-based desktops and laptops, further accelerating the growth of internet shopping carried out using mobile devices. PPRO’s 2020 Payments Almanac revealed that no less than 55% of e-commerce shopping in the UK is conducted using a mobile device. The data also showed that the UK's smartphone penetration level reaches 85% of the population, more than China, Germany and the USA.

A survey of 2,000 UK consumers carried out by operations solutions provider PFS revealed that 39% of the respondents had begun shopping in new purchase categories for items which they had previously only bought from bricks-and-mortar stores. This trend was strongest among younger customers: 52% of millennials and 61% of Generation Z customers started shopping for new categories of products.

As is made clear by the data presented above, there has never been a better time to invest in new e-commerce strategies. Brickweb, a company established for well over two decades and with an impressive reputation for creating flexible, responsive and adaptable e-commerce websites, is here to help you do just that.

Find out more about our e-commerce website solutions on the Brick website, where you can also request a comprehensive, personalised SEO report on your current website absolutely free with our compliments.