New research released today by Hootsuite and We Are Social shows that 92.4 per cent of people in the UK visited an online store during January. 85.5 per cent went on to make a transaction, with those in the 45-54 and 55-64 age groups leading the field with the most online purchases during lockdown (87.5 per cent and 86.1 per cent respectively).
According to their Digital 2021 UK report – the latest insights into the ‘state of digital’, the value of the eCommerce goods market in the UK is now $97.03 billion (an annual growth of 17.8 per cent).
Unsurprising, the key findings track the effect of the pandemic and subsequent lockdown restrictions on consumer spending in 2020. While expenditure was down a significant 47.9 per cent on travel, mobility and accommodation, there was a 16.1 per cent increase in sales of toys, DIY products and hobbies. We actually spent more on the latter ($17.72 billion) than we did on food and personal care ($15.87 billion).
Electronics and physical media cost us $16.36 billion and we invested $14.56 billion on furniture and appliances. Although fashion and beauty spending topped the list, with $32.53 billion (up 17.2 per cent compared to 2019).
Despite the dominance of social media in our everyday lives, the report suggests that the British public are still very traditional when it comes to discovering and researching brands. 39.5 per cent use search engines, 37.5 per cent rely on word of mouth and 37.1 per cent are swayed by ads on TV.
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