As retailers realign their online offering and consumers regain confidence in buying online, eCommerce saw a dramatic month-on-month rise in web visits and a 73% increase in revenues, the latest data from the Covid-19 Retail Pulse from BounceX soon to be Wunderkind shows.
Performance has improved dramatically with a 69% increase in web visits month-on-month, as businesses turn to eCommerce to continue trading under lockdown—resulting in better traffic volumes to sites and higher conversion levels.
Over the past week website visits have increased 13%, with retailers such as Fenwick, Quiz and Dunelm re-opening their ecommerce businesses. Fast fashion retailer, Boohoo, also released its full year results this week for the year to 29 February 2020, and despite a wobble in March as lockdown was introduced, early numbers suggest the retailer has bounced back and seems to be doing very well in April.
Similarly Next and Schuh are back online, but only taking a limited number of orders. However on day one of resumed trading the Next website had to stop taking orders after a matter of hours, as consumers have more time to shop and spend online.
Rob Massa, General Manager for BounceX EMEA, commented: “It’s impossible to ignore that consumer behaviour is being transformed in new and unexpected ways as shoppers grapple with the UK government’s ‘stay home’ order meaning a shift to ecommerce and the new reality of working remotely. In unprecedented trading conditions such as these, retailers need to identify and leverage the most effective sales and marketing channels possible.”
“Over the past few weeks we have seen brands investing heavily in creating seamless online experiences as every touch point for the consumer, from email marketing to ensuring the purchasing process is as easy as possible for potential customers. As consumers start to adjust to the ‘new normal’, we’ve seen an enormous 69% increase in web visits and 73% rise in revenue month-on-month, whilst the trend continued this past week with a 15% increase in revenue – suggesting an increased consumer confidence,” he concluded.
