E-commerce is booming in the UK, with an overwhelming majority of shoppers opting to buy products online due to timely delivery guarantees and improved services, a new study has revealed.
According to Nielsen’s Global Connected Commerce report, 95% of shoppers in the UK are now buying products online that they previously bought in traditional bricks and mortar retail.
Convenience
Around 39% of the consumers found money-back guarantee schemes on products not matching up to the original order as an assuring factor, while another 32% were impressed by same day product replacement services, the study found.
Free delivery of orders above a certain minimum purchase amount also convinced a third (32%) of consumers in the UK to switch to online shopping.
Trending Products
Online sales of cosmetics and baby products in the UK registered a 4% year-on-year increase, the study found.
Fashion, travel, and books accounted for the largest proportion of online transactions, however, sales in the travel and books segment dipped by 6% and 4% respectively.
Global Scenario
Global online sales of fresh groceries have grown by 15% between 2016 and 2018, which according to Nielsen's estimates contributed $70 billion to overall FMCG e-commerce growth.
The online categories that posted the most significant growth in e-commerce activity include restaurant deliveries, where 33% of online consumers said they made a purchase (up 2% vs 2017), packaged groceries (up 3% to 30%), and fresh groceries (up 2% to 26%).
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
