Shopper Discounts and Rewards: how the rise in temperature saw a rise in sales for Marks & Spencer
This week Marks & Spencer reported nearly a 30% rise in online
sales after the successful launch of their multichannel services. The retailer has experienced online growth in 2013, and says customers have been “responding well to the improvements made to the service proposition such as free next-day delivery to stores.”
M&S has improved their online services as well as targeted international sales. Interestingly, beyond their 30% eCommerce growth, their second-fastest growth area was seen in their international sales, which rose by 8.7%.
Marks & Spencer’s Chief Executive’s view
The M&S CEO Marc Bolland said that they continued to “make good progress with our plans to transform M&S into an international, multichannel retailer” and that this was seen with “strong M&S.com online sales.”
“Our general merchandise business showed some improvement this quarter and the food business delivered another excellent performance, continuing the strong, underlying trend.”
online sales growth for M&S
This week’s release of the Marks & Spencer’s online sales figures from the British Retail Consortium state that last month, online sales saw the fastest growth since Christmas. The report showed a 14.1% boost to retail sales made online in June 2013, compared to the same month last year. The figures also saw a rise in high-street sales, supporting the optimism felt for the wider UK economy, where total sales grew by 2.9%.
what is making us spend more?
Have recent summer sales encouraged us to go shopping? Or has the recent warmer weather meant that we are encouraged to update our summer wardrobes, make those garden purchases or given us the push we needed to finally make a start on DIY projects?
changing investment strategies
As our shopping habits continue to change, what has been the effect of the increased sales on British retailers? According to the BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor, the lift in online sales comes at a time when we see retailers investing in their multichannel operations and distribution chains. Retailers need to ensure that they offer a multichannel experience to the customer as well as maintain flexibility and faster delivery times.
Related Post: UK High Street prices falling due to summer sales
