January sees lowest rate of online retail growth ever recorded

January saw the lowest rate of online retail growth ever documented in 22 years of tracking at -24.4% Year-on-Year (YoY), according to the IMRG Capgemini Online Retail Index. The index, which tracks the online sales performance for over 200 retailers, ended 2021 at +2.7% total growth in the market, which was the lowest annual growth rate ever. Continuing this pattern, January 2022’s drop is a direct result of retailers competing against a growth rate of +61.8% from January 2021, when the UK was in a lockdown – causing online channels to experience a “significant boom”. IMRG said that fast-forward 12 months and not only are retailers up against this steep growth rate, but restrictions have been lifted, enabling consumers to carry out more in-person shopping if they wish. Breaking this down further, the average basket value (ABV) was actually up – rising to £115 in January after dropping to £106 in December. In the first half of 2021 the ABV saw “huge increases”, but it had been falling since August. January is the first month since then that it has started to go back up again. At a category level, the index found fashion experienced the highest rate of growth in January, with clothing up +5.4% YoY, and womenswear (+25.2%), menswear (+16.0%) and footwear (+19.4%) all reporting positive performances. Those with the poorest growth included skincare, which was down -48.2%, makeup (-45.7%), and electricals (-36.7%). Andy Mulcahy, Strategy and Insight director at IMRG, said: “The first quarter of 2021 had a severe lockdown in place which drove huge online growth, so the year-on-year comparisons for the early months in 2022 are going to be harshly negative as a consequence. This can make it seem like online sales are in freefall, whereas actually it is just a natural rationalisation of the 50-60% increases we saw this time last year.” Lucy Gibbs, senior manager, Retail lead for Analytics and AI, Capgemini, added: “January was mixed story for retail; our Online Index reported the largest YoY fall in sales ever, and the high street claimed the opposite. This is due to the now familiar Yin Yang effect on YoY revenues when comparing to last year’s lockdown store closures. “As we emerge from the pandemic, the annual results will start to normalise and 2022 will hopefully bring a much more stable trading period, however the outlook still remains uncertain as we realise the fall out of economic and logistical challenges from the last two years.” She added: “Capturing share of wallet amongst increasing bills and also pent-up demand for travel, events and eating out will continue to prove to be the focus as we navigate 2022.”