Britons are by far the most prolific online shoppers in the developed world, according to the latest International Communications Market Report from Ofcom in the U.K., as this chart from the FT shows. On average, Britons spend an average of almost £2,000 a year on e-commerce, and an average of more than £3,000 apiece when considering only the online-shopper population. The availability of superfast broadband—which Ofcom says is more widespread than in other key Western European markets—is only helping to drive e-commerce growth.
These figures will spike higher after the 2014 Christmas shopping season. Online Black Friday sales far exceeded expectations on Amazon and beyond, and during so-called Manic Monday a week ago, online shoppers were spending almost half a million pounds per minute on aggregate. Meanwhile, the FT reports that “an unprecedented surge in online deliveries” has seen parcel deliveries “descending into chaos.” Leading delivery service Yodel, explaining that parcel volume was 26 percent above what its retail customers had forecast, had to temporarily suspend pickup from some retailers and delay deliveries.
As more consumers browse and buy on the go with mobile devices, online shopping will continue to make fast gains; luxury brands and others that have been reluctant to fully embrace e-commerce will have to shift with the times.
Source:jwtintelligence
