13 Nov UK Market Highlights – November 2017
Every month B.D.C. gives you the key retail information you should not have missed. Key trends, innovation, major players, startups, market figures – discover in 60 seconds the latest key retail news.
UK MARKET HIGHLIGHTS
According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), online sales showed their weakest growth since 2012 in October. Indeed, online sales of non-food products grew at 4% over the first 4 weeks of the month, below the 3-month average (8.7%).
Ecommerce is growing slowly – accounting for 23.7% of the monthly retail sales, up from 22.6% in October 2016. This slow increase may be explained by the Bexit uncertainty as well as quieter period prior Black Friday.
Looking at the study conducted by Allies Computing, 83% of Irish consumers buy online from UK retailers. A wide choice of products is the first reason for Irish consumers to shop online in the UK, cheaper prices is the second.
KEY PLAYERS
John Lewis’s Christmas advert was released on November 10th and it has cost around £7 million including TV spots. Numerous other major retailers have released their adverts last week, including Marks & Spencer, Argos, Debenhams and Asda.
Marks&Spencer plans to close stores and reduce existing spaces. M&S wants to become a digital-first organisation and the UK’s “essential” clothing retailer. As a result, the retailer plans to move a third of clothing and home sales online. Also, online sales via M&S.com grew by 5.7% in the first half of the year.
Debenhams is focusing on a mobile-centred strategy with an upgraded mobile website as well as improvements including a new payment page and new beauty brand presentations. Debenhams reported online sales growth of 12.7% in its latest full year, with mobile accounting for 55% of online orders and smartphone conversion rates lifting by 15%.
NEWS FROM OUR ECOSYSTEM
We are pleased to announce that B.D.C. team will attend the NRF Annual Convention 2018. The Annual Convention will be held from January 14th to January 16th in New York City. This is the world’s leading annual retail event, bringing together 18k retailers, over 600 exhibitors, from 95 different countries.
As we did last year, we are bringing a group of international retailers and entrepreneurs to New York. During our Learning Expedition, we will attend conferences, meet with senior executives working for top worldwide retailers and also discover the most innovative retail stores in Manhattan… If you want to learn more about this Learning Expedition, drop us a note at info@bd-consultants.com!
