Online clothing sales put in strong performance in June

June's sunny weather inspired shoppers to spend on their wardrobes as online clothing sales were up +19.3% during the month, which was a strong one for online retail overall.

The heatwave and the start of the World Cup resulted in a +16.9% year on year growth in overall online sales, according to the latest IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index. Both online-only and multichannel retailers enjoyed strong e-commerce sales during the month and were up +14.8% and +18.7% respectively.

Unsurprisingly garden was the best performing sector with sales up a huge +49.9% year on year. But fashion was strong with a +19.3% jump overall and a +23.9% growth for accessories and +22.7% growth for footwear.

However retailers are cautious about future growth as consumers may rein in spending later this year to make up for the splurge in June.

Bhavesh Unadkat, principal consultant in retail customer engagement, Capgemini explained: “June has seen continued buoyant sales online, strongly influenced by fashion and seasonal items. This has boosted non-essential spend while customers make the most of the buzz created by the good weather and the World Cup. We might question what the longer term effect is as Barclaycard report that 1 in 3 Brits have spent more than normal so far this summer.

"This could result in a slowdown as customers align the potential overspend so far this summer in the later months of the year, supported by 4 in 10 saying they will hold off purchasing big ticket items. Electrical and Home sectors have the lowest June YoY growth in the last 5 years, a reminder of caution during political uncertainty and upcoming interest rate increases”

Andy Mulcahy, strategy and insight director, IMRG added: “Sales growth for UK online retail has been consistently strong so far in 2018 – in spite of the fact that there are signs of a slowdown underway. The smartphone has been the main device accounting for that high growth, yet despite sales being up +34% through these devices in June, it was actually the lowest growth rate for smartphones since October 2014."

“The reason that this lower rate is not causing a wider slowdown in the overall index is likely due to the fact that smartphones now account for over one-third of total online retail sales. For many people, they are either already, or well on their way to becoming, the device of choice for browsing and shopping in most contexts.”