THE summer heatwave that drove customers away from the high street delivered an unexpected boon for online retailers, new figures show.
IMRG, the industry body that tracks internet spending, recorded a 35.4 per cent increase in like-for-like online sales in July. Online sales in July are estimated to have been worth £2.33 billion, up from £1.47 billion the previous year.
In contrast, the number of people visiting shops fell by 2.2 per cent over the month, as customers sought refuge indoors from unseasonably high temperatures.
Consumer apathy in the wake of the World Cup was also cited as a factor contributing to the low customer turnout.
James Roper, chief executive of IMRG, said: “Internet shopping is now an extremely viable alternative to mainstream shopping because of the huge investment that has gone into expanding the products and services available.”
Malcolm Pinkerton, an analyst at the British Retail Consortium, suggested that the hot weather could have helped online sales in other ways too.
“There is evidence to prove that when people cannot sleep because of the hot weather, they will log on to the internet and do some shopping,” he said.
City analysts suggested that John Lewis, the department store group, and Next, the fashion retailer, were among the companies to enjoy a lift in online sales last month.
Supermarket groups such as Tesco are also expected to have seen a sales lift, as customers opted for the convenience of having their groceries delivered during the holiday season. Garden furniture, fans, air-conditioning units, paddling pools and picnicware all sold well.
In terms of product categories, sales of electrical goods were particularly buoyant, with IMRG recording a 57.6 per cent increase in sales on a like-for-like basis, while clothing, footwear and accessories enjoyed a 46.6 per cent lift in like-for-like internet sales on the previous year.
IMRG’s beer, wines and spirits index showed a 43.4 per cent increase in the category during July on the previous year.
Hitwise, which compiles a list of retailers by the number of “hits” they receive, noted that both Next and Debenhams, the department store, had seen an increase in traffic on their websites, while Argos, the retailing group, had seen a 19 per cent increase in the number of visits to its website since April.
According to the tracking agency Footfall, the number of customers visiting shops fell 5 per cent in the week between July 17 and 23, and slipped by another 5.7 per cent in the following week.
On Wednesday, July 19 — which was the hottest July day since records began, with a temperature of 38.5C recorded in Kent — footfall declined 7.3 per cent.
