UK etail predicted to grow by 42% in five years

By

Cajsa Lykke Carlson

Published
Aug 29, 2016

Clothes and footwear will be the driving products behind a predicted growth in UK e-retail, says a new forecast by Retail & Markets.

According to the "E-Retail in the UK 2016" report, online growth from 2016 to 2021 is forecast at 42%, with clothing and footwear growing by 71.9%. Retailers' ongoing investment in newness and personalized marketing means clothing and footwear will continue to dominate the online channel. However, the rate of online growth will continue to decline, as the number of new retailers entering the channel for the first time diminishes and the market reaches maturation.

In 2016 the online clothing and footwear market is forecast to account for 24.5% of all online retail spend, and its forecast growth between 2016 and 2021 is the strongest across all sectors. When it comes to food and groceries, customers will spend £106.01 per head over the next five years and there will be a 5.4% increase in online shoppers' share of overall food and grocery shoppers. This is due to an increasingly tech-savvy and time-poor population, especially among younger shoppers, that will shop for food & grocery online.

The report also found that young people have the highest online penetration in the majority of sectors. Customers between the ages of 25 and 34 are most likely to shop in sectors such as clothing and footwear, influenced by online pure plays such as Boohoo and ASOS that target younger audiences.

When it comes to receiving their goods, consumers prefer options that work around their timetable, with 83.7% stating they would want to use next day delivery more in future and 84.0% of online shoppers wanting to use named day home delivery in the future.