Stormy weather throughout January may have caused many shoppers to head online to get their retail fix, as sales from online retailers experienced a significant increase, recent data has suggested.
The ‘Retail Sales, January 2014’ report, published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), showed that online sales in January rose by 8.9 per cent when compared with the same period in 2013.
The report also revealed that more than ten per cent of all retail spending took place online.
According to internetretailing.net, the most significant growth in sales was seen in the textile, clothing and footwear sectors, where sales increased by 12.9 per cent on January 2013.
Online household goods retailers which usually rely heavily on their in-store sales also saw a marked improvement of 5.2 per cent and online sales equated to 5.6 per cent of all sales.
Richard Lowe, Barclays head of retail and wholesale, commented on the results and told retail-week.com that retailers in the UK decided to heavily discount their stock to keep sales going throughout January and maintain their customers’ interest.
Mr Lowe said: “Looking ahead at the next few months, I expect the outlook to remain positive, with modest growth, as consumers are encouraged by positive economic signs including falling inflation.”
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