First week of stay at home guidance leads to mixed online sales results
New figures have shown that the government’s stay at home guidance due to the coronavirus crisis led online retail sales growth to decline by 2.2% year-on-year in the week commencing 15 March.
According to the latest IMRG Capgemini Online Retail Index, which tracks the online sales performance of over 200 retailers, sales growth in the clothing category fell by 26.7% in the period. This included a 38.2% drop in footwear sales.
Meanwhile, some categories saw large uplifts in sales. Online sales of electricals climbed by 42.4% as people forced to stay at home rushed to buy home office equipment and games consoles. Freezers were also popular as shoppers continued to stock up on frozen food. Meanwhile, demand for home improvement products contributed to a 13.8% uplift in sales in the home and garden category.
Other standout categories included health and beauty where sales growth was 31.6%.
