It’s no wonder that online sales and shopping skyrocketed in March. Lockdowns were going into place, people were being told to self-quarantine inside, and everything outside of food shops and hospitals were promptly closed. Since the easing of lockdown, we have seen a decrease in online sales – but nowhere near back to pre-pandemic levels. Online shopping is simply here to stay and make up almost a third of all value.
Increase in Checkout Value
Not only did more people rely on online shopping during lockdown, but they also increased their spending. This is partially due to a strain on supply chains, meaning that even essentials like groceries went up in price to accommodate the difficulty in managing a complex, global system in the midst of a pandemic.
Overall, checkout baskets increased in value by 4.4% than beforehand, meaning that Brits are spending more online, not just in volume, but per checkout as well online.
Permanent Switch for Millions of Brits
Online shopping has been such a comfort to those in lockdown that an average of 17.2 million brits intends to permanently switch to online shopping. This is a huge increase, and thankfully the shift delivery methods mean that businesses throughout the UK can better accommodate this increase.
Trends for 2020 and Beyond
However, what is helping make so many UK residents decide that online shopping is for them? These following trends could be why.
1. Gift-Giving Trends
What might change the most is how we give each other gifts. Gift cards from http://giftsvouchers.co.uk/ were hugely popular, as they could be used both online or, once lockdown lifted, in person. Today it’s not even necessary to present them with a physical gift card, as E-Gift Cards are part of the package, so last-minute gifts don’t end up lost in the mail and end up weeks behind schedule.
The reason for the increase in gift card use is two-fold. It gives greater control to the recipient to choose the gift that they wanted or needed. It could also be the gift of an experience you cannot provide them right this moment. Deliveroo cards could be used to pay for a truly great take-out from a nearby restaurant for their birthday since you couldn’t be there.
2. Online Shopping for Essentials
One of the biggest changes is the increase in those using online options to shop for essentials like food. Though there is an issue with time slots, overall, it means that more people can enjoy bulk food shops and keep to a more strict budget than ever before.
3. Change in Online Shopping for Clothing
Shopping online for clothing has become hugely popular, especially with options like free returns. People buy more than one size and return the rest. The issue with this is that it costs a lot to reprocess returns, even if they are in mint condition. A better way to avoid this for retailers is to skip vanity sizing and to instead put the true sizes down to the centimetre so that returns are less likely and the true size can be found.
4. Subscription and Delivery Boxes
Subscription and delivery boxes have increased massively in popularity, as they allow you to try new things and receive little treats in almost anything right to your door. These are sure to increase as many restaurants and businesses seek to expand their revenue by offering meal kits to their customers.
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