Shoppers flock online in search of festive bargains
Research from Visa Europe shows Irish consumers are set to spend a total of €257 million online on gifts in the run-up to Christmas, with an average spend of €155 per shopper. The credit card company predicted yesterday would be the busiest online shopping day of the year.
Online retailer eBay.ie has plumped for today as the busiest day for online shopping, predicting that about 95,000 shoppers will visit the site, buying one gift every 10 seconds. This is compared to one gift every 20 seconds for the same day last year.
As latest figures show a continuing year-on-year decline in retail sales, latest research shows that more than 57% of Irish consumers plan to shop online this Christmas.
According to eBay.ie, the most popular categories will be DIY items, mobile phones and accessories and the clothing, shoes and accessories category.
Laura Wilkinson of eBay said less hassle and better value were the reasons Irish consumers were going online: “The strongest sales this year have been in the categories of clothing, mobile phones and homewares. Irish shoppers are keen to take the hassle out of Christmas by buying online for great value deals delivered to their door,” she said.
Meanwhile, retail sales figures continue to languish. CSO figures show that October saw a 0.1% increase on September, although spending was down 3.8% on last year.
David Fitzsimons, chief executive of Retail Excellence Ireland, said struggling retailers were hoping for a December boost in sales, but said the outlook for the industry was bleak.
“Retailers will be hoping that the traditional jump in sales in December will be boosted this year by the Government’s decision to defer the 2% rise in VAT until January. We have to hope that Budget 2012 will give consumers certainty about the remaining austerity measures. This will be one of the important steps needed before any growth in consumer confidence is seen.”
Mark Fielding, chief executive of the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association, said the sector was “hanging on by a thread”.
Pricing intelligence company Profitero has stressed the need for Irish retailers to merge their store-based business with an online presence, in order to capture some of the growth being seen in online sales.
Profitero chief Vol Pigrukh said that retailers ignoring such warnings are in danger of going out of business: “If you look at recent retail figures, one of the key areas that continues to keep growing is the online area,” he said.
