Flexible delivery could be Christmas retail battlefield – Deloitte
ONLINE sales are set to hit £5bn this Christmas, according to accountancy and advisory firm Deloitte.
This is a 19% year-on-year increase as the popularity of online shopping continues to rise.
Deloitte has also estimated that 20,000 click-and-collect points across the UK are braced for a busy month and the firm forecasts a 3.5% increase in the value of total Christmas retail sales, taking the sum consumers plan to spend this Christmas to £40.3bn.
Homeware and department stores and are set to do well, and if the cold snap continues, clothing stores will also receive a boost, Deloitte said.
Food is likely to remain competitive, while electrical retailers will be hoping new tablets and games consoles will lift sales.
Jane Whitlock, consumer business partner at Deloitte in the West Midlands, said: “The forecast will provide some Christmas cheer for retailers. Shoppers are expected to loosen purse strings off the back of rising consumer confidence and improving economic conditions. Flexible delivery could be this year’s battlefield.
“After last year’s click-and-collect Christmas, consumers’ expectations around flexible delivery over the coming festive period are higher than ever before. Store collection is now seen as a basic offering and those retailers without this capability will struggle to convert online sales and lose resulting footfall in-store.
“This year, the consumer will be challenging retailers’ ability to deliver a sofa at home in a specified time-slot; transfer a party dress to their local store for same day collection and drop off their Christmas DVDs at a convenient locker.”
Recent Deloitte research found that 47% of UK consumers think empty high street stores would make convenient collection points to pick up goods ordered on the internet. Whilst 36% would like to pick up small goods from a dedicated collection point facility such as a locker or independent store near to home or work.
