http://www.managementparadise.com/forums/NET SHOPPERS TO SPICE UP RETAIL SALES THIS X'MAS
London
The Economic Times
Santa Claus is as likely to be coming through cyberspace in Europe this year as down the chimney stack. Online retail sales are predicted to hit a record high in Europe’s three big economies — Germany, France and Britain — this Christmas and are proving to be one of the few areas to bring some cheer to an otherwise gloomy outlook for shopkeepers.
“Internet is booming at the expense of the high street stores,” said James Roper, chief executive of London-based online tracker Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG). “The story that we’ve heard in the past, that Internet retail won’t take off because people want to feel the fruit and touch the cardigan is just not true.”
British Internet tills are forecast to ring in sales worth £3.6 billion ($7 billion) by the end of December. More than £180 million was spent online this past Monday alone, the traditional start of the festive shopping season, double the amount of ago year ago, according to IMRG.
In a sure sign of market confidence in the trend, Britain’s Tesco, the world’s fifth biggest retailer with stores in 12 countries, chose this week to expand its one billion pound online sales business beyond food to clothing. “It’s performing very strongly, over double what we did last year,” Tesco’s strategy and finance director Andrew Higginson told Reuters about its non-food offer of teddy bears to sofas.
London
The Economic Times
Santa Claus is as likely to be coming through cyberspace in Europe this year as down the chimney stack. Online retail sales are predicted to hit a record high in Europe’s three big economies — Germany, France and Britain — this Christmas and are proving to be one of the few areas to bring some cheer to an otherwise gloomy outlook for shopkeepers.
“Internet is booming at the expense of the high street stores,” said James Roper, chief executive of London-based online tracker Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG). “The story that we’ve heard in the past, that Internet retail won’t take off because people want to feel the fruit and touch the cardigan is just not true.”
British Internet tills are forecast to ring in sales worth £3.6 billion ($7 billion) by the end of December. More than £180 million was spent online this past Monday alone, the traditional start of the festive shopping season, double the amount of ago year ago, according to IMRG.
In a sure sign of market confidence in the trend, Britain’s Tesco, the world’s fifth biggest retailer with stores in 12 countries, chose this week to expand its one billion pound online sales business beyond food to clothing. “It’s performing very strongly, over double what we did last year,” Tesco’s strategy and finance director Andrew Higginson told Reuters about its non-food offer of teddy bears to sofas.