Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Online retail sucks life out of high street

CITY AM - Tuesday 19th April 2011,    
                    John Dunne
 
ONLINE retail is growing six times faster than high street sales and is forecast to hit £37bn a year by 2014, according to a retail survey.
The rapid expansion is hitting high street retailers who are struggling to remain competitive with 40,000 shops closing over the past decade.
Smartphones are fuelling the rapid online sales growth as customers place orders on-the-go.

The Webloyalty Online Retail Report by Verdict Research predicts that current internet spending will grow by £14bn from 2010 to 2014.
Many more familiar brands will disappear from town centres as a growing number of retailers close shops and trade solely on websites, according to the research.
Just over half of UK consumers currently use their mobiles during the purchasing process, but in the next five years this is expected to hit 80 per cent, according to the research.

Full story.

1 comment:

Lena said...

Well the trend does predict the future. But I think it is worth while to consider that it has been the online media channels that held these high street retailers during tough economic times. This is sure showing signs in the retail jobs sector with companies looking foe executives with a bit of technical skill.