Online retail predict to grow by 42 percent in five years

The clothing and footwear sector is expected to boost UK online retailing to a 42 percent growth from 2016 to 2021, according to a new report from Verdict Retail.

The ‘E-Retail in the UK 2016’ report reveals that online growth is going to be driven by clothing and footwear sales, which it is predicting will grow by 71.9 percent, and will dominate online retailing. Its domination is aided by fashion retailers investment in newness and personalised marketing.

However, the report notes that the rate of online growth will continue to decline, as the number of new retailers entering the channel for the first time diminishes and the market reaches maturation.

Its findings for 2016 states that the online clothing and footwear market is forecast to account for 24.5 percent of all online retail spend, making it the largest online sector ahead of electrical and food and grocery, despite its relative maturity, its forecast growth between 2016 and 2021 is the strongest across all sectors.

Young shoppers have the highest online penetration in the majority of sectors, with consumers aged between 25 and 34 most likely to shop in sectors such as clothing and footwear, influenced by online pure plays such as Boohoo and Asos that target younger audiences, the report adds.

When it comes to consumers receiving their goods, they use a variety of different home delivery options, but prefer options that work around their timetable, with 83.7 percent stating they would want to use next day delivery more in future and 84 percent of online shoppers wanting to use named day home delivery in the future.