Postal strikes dent online clothing sales

So, the true impact of the postal strikes on online fashion retailers has finally been quantified….and it ain’t pretty! Despite many of the big online firms putting clear notices on their homepages stating ‘we are not affected by the postal strikes,’ many shoppers turned to the high street in October to guarantee their purchases on time!

The IMRG Capgemini e-retail sales Index, which measures online sales, has revealed today that October sales growth dropped by 5% in the last week (a fall of £53 million to put it into context!) after the postal strikes significantly dented sales. Shoppers spent £4.2 billion in total.

Within clothing, which is normally the star peformer, delivery concerns had a huge impact on sales, almost halving the amount compared to previous years. Clothing sales grew by just 13.2% in October, compared to an average of 27% in October for the last few years. The month started strongly but rapidly deteriorated in the last few weeks as a direct result of the strikes.

The report says: “many shoppers turned away from online stores and returned to the high street to avoid delays in getting their winter wardrobe and festive party outfits.”

However, on the up side, the study predicts Christmas will come early for online stores this year, as shoppers rush to avoid postal strikes by stocking up on presents in advance.

…not all bad then!

fashionbite xx