Shop Direct's Christmas sales increase by 9 percent

Shop Direct, which operates digital department stores Very.co.uk , Littlewoods.com and VeryExclusive.co.uk, has said that it delivered its fifth consecutive record-breaking Christmas sales performance during the seven weeks to 23 December 2016. The company said group sales increased by 9 percent year-on-year – putting the company on track to deliver another year of record sales and profits in 2016/17.

Commenting on the Christmas trading, Alex Baldock, CEO at Shop Direct, said in a press release, “Shoppers chose convenience; being able to shop via smartphone was top of their Christmas lists. Most of the growth in retail is coming from online, and the growth in online is coming from mobile. We continue to put mobile first – and it paid off this Christmas. We know the market will be tough in 2017; we’ve still got a lot of work to do and we’re nowhere near the full potential of this business. But we’re confident that by continuing to invest in what makes us special, we’ll deliver another record year of sales and profit in 2017.”

Sales jump at Very.co.uk boosts Shop Direct revenues

Sales via mobile devices comprised 68 percent of Shop Direct’s online sales, with the company’s performance underpinned by its largest and fastest growing retail brand, Very.co.uk. The digital department store delivered sales growth of 19 percent year-on-year. Sales for the seven-week period were up 9 percent year-on-year with sales at Very.co.uk reporting growth of 19 percent year-on-year.

Shop Direct’s trading highlights included 97m site visits, up 20 percent year-on-year, over 410,000 new customers, up 16 percent year-on-year and fashion category witnessing 16 percent sales growth, supported by: Shop Direct’s recently launched own-brand label V by Very, which proved a hit with customers. The popularity of athleisure products was evident with ladies sportswear alone growing by 83 percent.

The company reported record-breaking Black Friday week, with year-on-year sales up by 4 percent. Mobile traffic to Shop Direct’s sites increased by 30 percent year-on-year and sales via mobile devices (smartphone and tablet) made up 70 percent of Very.co.uk’s online sales and increased 29 percent year-on-year. Sales via smartphone made up 55 percent of online sales on Very.co.uk and increased by 45 percent year-on-year – making smartphone by far the most dominant and fastest growing channel.

Picture:Very.co.uk