Xmas 2009: How was it for you? - Comments from the top online retailers

Quotes from retailers:

Tony Solomons, Retail Director at Waitrose, said:  “This Christmas, sales via our online shopping service, WaitroseDeliver, were up by a fantastic 95% on last year and were a key growth driver for the business. In Spring last year we became the first and only UK food retailer to abolish the delivery charge on all our online grocery orders - helping customers save 5%-10% on their online shopping bills.  Customers have also been drawn to use the service as they can enjoy all of the price promotions available in store, plus the quality of our full range and the value of essential Waitrose.”

********************************

Giles Harridge, co-founder of GettingPersonal.co.uk, says:  “GettingPersonal.uk had the most successful December on record: sales were up over 65 per cent on December 2008.  We saw an increased demand for personalised gifts such as 2010 Calendars, Christmas Cards and Football Books.  Non-personalised items such as Microwavable Cozy Boots, Slankets and novelty festive products also flew off the shelves as relatives looked for warm winter gifts and stocking fillers in the run up to Christmas Day.

“The increase in sales is the culmination of several things, but in essence it’s our unique product offering and excellent service that counts.  On many lines we were even able to offer a premium Christmas delivery courier service on orders placed up to lunchtime on 23rd December, so we were busy right up to the last minute.  December brought a tremendous amount of success for us – not only did we see unprecedented sales figures but we finished 12th in the Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100 league table, a reflection of how we are really progressing as a business.”  

********************************

Commenting on the latest IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index, Cameron McLean, PayPal’s General Manager for UK merchant services, said:  “Whilst people still very much rely on trusted high street brands, the convenience of online shopping is a big draw. These latest figures and PayPal’s own research show that the real winners in 2010 and beyond will be those retailers who successfully integrate both their on and offline offerings. PayPal research shows 62% of online shoppers say they would like their favourite retailers to do more to integrate their online and offline services. But multi channel retailers also need to work hard to maintain this loyalty; PayPal research shows that shoppers no longer differentiate between retailers’ on and offline services with one in five (22%) online shoppers saying they have been put off making a future in-store purchase from a brand having had a bad experience online.”

********************************

Mark Newton-Jones, Chief Executive of Shop Direct Group, said: “In December we continued to see a rise in customer demand for online transactions. 65% of sales were generated online during the six weeks up to 1st January and we had a number of days where 85% of sales were taken online.

“We found that last year customers concentrated their shopping into two weeks but this year, we have seen four equally large trading weeks; the last two weeks of November and the first two weeks of December.  We believe that the ease of shopping online allows customers to manage their shopping time more effectively, planning earlier and shopping later. Whilst the recent unprecedented weather conditions have made trading extremely challenging, we have been able to work with our delivery company to ensure that any disruption was minimised.”

********************************

Julian Granville, Managing Director of Boden, said: "Trading in December was surprisingly good but there is no marked trend other than a continued shift from offline to online buying".

********************************

Christian Robinson, Managing Director of Firebox, comments: "December was a record breaking month at Firebox.com with sales up 31% on 2008. We saw our most profitable Christmas in Firebox's eleven year history and order volumes were sustained from our peak on December 7th (when we made a record-breaking number of orders in one day) right up until December 23rd, which is unprecedented.

"The snowfall just before Christmas had both positive and negative effects – we certainly saw an uptake in orders as conditions worsened and consumers opted for online shopping over the high street. The negative effects were minimal – our warehouse team continued to function as usual but we were aware that couriers were having problems in certain parts of the country so we brought forward our last order date by a day to ensure that orders would be delivered in time. "

********************************

Julie Ireland, Director of Perfect Handbags, said: “November sales were disappointing, which we attributed to the threat of and actual postal strikes (even though we were unaffected because we don’t use the Royal Mail).  We were therefore very nervous about December which started very slowly but by 5th December our sales took off, more than 3 times our sales for the same period last year.  Strong sales continued to 18th December and then slowed (as is normal) for the last few posting days before Christmas.  

“Sales were strong in the last week of 2009 as we launched our sale, but the New Year started slowly - it’s difficult at this stage to be sure exactly why – January can vary hugely year on year – but we are guessing that online customers have assumed that deliveries will be delayed because of the weather, even though our deliveries have not been delayed so far.   Sales suddenly increased on 7th January and stayed strong since then.  If the trend continues we predict that sales for January 2010 will be 22% up on 2009, a promising start to the new decade.”

********************************

Zak Edwards, MD of Prezzybox.com, comments: “Despite all of the economic doom and gloom in 2009, Prezzybox finished the year extremely strongly, marking a growth of 57% for the month of December compared to the same period in 2008. Contributing factors to this impressive growth include a proactive marketing campaign whereby £5 million worth of gift vouchers were given away as well as an aggressive product pricing policy.

“Since Christmas Day, our sales have trebled on the same period 2008/2009. I attribute this to a number of factors, including the adverse weather conditions. Our winter sale launched on the 23rd December and the online shopper/retailer is becoming more savvy to ‘lure’ of special offers, hence an increase in traffic and conversion rate. Prezzybox also took a record number of orders in December and as a whole offered a good service, consequently our repeat customer base has increased.

********************************

Dobbies.com Head of eCommerce, Joel Rendle, said: “We’ve had a record Christmas at www.dobbies.com with December sales nearly double that of last year. It’s clear that customers were shopping around for a real bargain to ensure that 2009 delivered a great Christmas for their friends and family.”

********************************

Alison Wade, Head of Marketing at Buyagift.com, said: “Buyagift.com has posted growth of more than 29% at the end of 2009 - its 10th year of trading. With visits to the site up by around 28% and orders up by 30%, the growth targets set for 2009 comfortably exceeded expectation.
 
“With the weather playing a major role in the public’s shopping choices in December, the North London based company worked around the clock to make sure their customers received their orders on time. With a 39% increase in revenue compared to 2008, and over 50% growth in the of orders received compared to this time the previous year, the value for money offered and the high standards of customer service paid dividends during this key gifting period.”

********************************

Ulric Jerome, Director, PIXmania.com said: “The Christmas period was very strong for PIXmania, with ecommerce sales up 15% compared to the previous year.  December 31st proved to be the busiest day with another surge in sales, as some consumers rushed to beat the VAT increase.  High demand was also encouraged by the launch of PIXmania’s sale on the 26th December, during which discounts of over 50% were available across thousands of products. TV’s, computers digital cameras and MDA products have proved the most popular.”

********************************

Sources:

www.uk.capgemini.com.

www.imrg.org

********************************

Get Netimperative updates on Twitter

<div class="portletHeader" align="left">Netimperative Newsletters- Are you missing out?</div>

<form action="http://netimperative.newsweaver.co.uk/subscriber/subscribe.html" method="post"><input name="subscribeBoxId" type="hidden" value="23141"/>

<input name="subscribeBoxTitle" type="hidden" value="Subscribe Box"/>

<input name="isExternal" type="hidden" value="true"/>

<p>Subscribe to our FREE newsletters here:</p><p>E-mail address: <br /><input name="sf_emailAddress.email" value="" /><br /><br /><input checkedvalue="" name="optin_17801" value="on" type="checkbox" /> Daily<br /><input checkedvalue="" name="optin_17811" value="on" type="checkbox" /> Weekly<br /><input checkedvalue="" name="optin_17821" value="on" type="checkbox" /> Search Marketing<br /><input checkedvalue="" name="optin_17831" value="on" type="checkbox" /> Events<br /><input checkedvalue="" name="optin_17841" value="on" type="checkbox" /> Publishing & Media<br /><br />Send as: <br /><input name="format" value="TEXT" type="radio" />Text<br /><input name="format" value="HTML" type="radio" />HTML<br /><br /><input name="optOut" value="on" type="checkbox" /> Alternatively, click here to unsubscribe</p><input type="submit" name="subscribeFormSubmit" id="subscribeFormSubmit" value="Submit"/></form>