Royal Wedding and hot weather boost online BWS sales

By Helen Gilbert

Published: 03 August, 2018

Online sales of beer, wines and spirits were up 27.3% YoY in March 2018, new data has revealed.

The Capgemini IMRG eRetail Sales Index for the first half of 2018 also recorded strong MoM growth of 34.3% for the category in March, while the 19.2% rise in May, was the strongest growth figure for that month in eight years.

“A likely influence there would have been the Royal Wedding, as people stocked up for the garden and street parties they were hosting in boiling hot weather,” Andy Mulcahy, IMRG strategy and insight director said.

In line with previous years and Dry January, the first month of 2018 saw BWS YoY sales decline 36.8% and MoM transactions drop 64.2%.

Overall the index, which tracks online sales across a number of sectors, showed that online spend was up 16.8% during the first half of 2018.

Online retail grew by 15.3% (YoY) between January and March when the UK experienced freak cold weather and jumped 18.2% (YoY) growth between April and June.

Mulcahy said the “feel-good elements” associated with events like the World Cup may have “encouraged people to spend a bit beyond their means.”

“This could mean that we see a pinch on shopper spend as we move through Q3 – though the weather in July has been incredibly hot – which may lead to an imbalance in online retail growth between the first and second halves of the year,” he added.

Bhavesh Unadkat, principal consultant in retail customer engagement, Capgemini said: “Despite that online-only retailers outperformed multichannel retailers during most of H1, with average growth at +18.6% and +14.7% respectively, multichannel actually closed the gap on last year’s YoY growth,”

“Basket value growth was also stronger for multichannel retailers, with a +4% (YoY) increase in average basket value to £100.77, compared to only +2% (YoY) for online only retailers at £87.77. It demonstrates the continued importance of an omnichannel presence for retailers – a focus on connected retail will help ensure that the ecommerce sales performance outlasts the good weather.”

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