Retailers close gap between online marketplaces and direct website sales this Easter
7th April 2016 – London, UK – During this year’s Easter weekend (25-28th March), online retailers saw a 111% increase in sales processed through their own websites compared to 2015. These findings are from the latest report released by Volo Commerce – a leading provider of ecommerce services.
Paul Watson, CEO of Volo Commerce comments:
“We regularly encourage our customers to diversify their sales strategies across multiple channels. This reduces the chance of being affected by unforeseen sales restrictions or unplanned technical issues. Furthermore, successful online merchants and brands have realised that gaining customer loyalty through channels like Amazon and eBay is a powerful approach, however for a long-term, healthy sales strategy, a brand or merchant’s direct website is essential for sustaining growth. The study’s results certainly support this.”
Growth also occurred in other marketplaces – sales processed through Amazon rose by 25% while eBay sales increased 7%.
The Toys and Games category was the most sought after this Easter with online retailers selling 50% more products compared to 2015. Electronics and technology items were also in high demand, registering a year-on-year (YOY) growth of 25%. During this period, online consumers were less interested in fashion and clothing. The sales for this category only saw 12% growth.
Overall, for all categories tracked, the total volume of orders increased by 6% on the prior year, while the Average Order Value (AOV) registered a YoY growth of 11%, up from £22.89 to £25.48 – an interesting trend considering the pace of national inflation.
The report also revealed that Amazon was the most successful marketplace for home and garden items.
“These findings echo a trend we noted in our February index results, when average basket values were up +11% year-on-year – making them the highest basket values for February since 2011. This is likely to have been a result of retailers scaling back on the heavy discounting that had been in place for many months,” explains Andy Mulcahy, editor IMRG (Interactive Media in Retail Group).
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