EDITORIAL Online sales and footfall in decline, Seasalt on the shift online, Hurr wins funding to disrupt fashion further

In today’s InternetRetailing newsletter we’re reporting as we approach a second Christmas overshadowed by Covid-19. New work from home advice came into force today in the light of the Omicron variant, while shoppers must now wear masks in shops once more. That may already be having an effect on the number of people visiting shops, since the latest figures show footfall at the weekend was lower than the previous one. It’s possible that shoppers who didn’t venture into shops bought online instead, but we’ll have to wait for the data to know.

However, recent IMRG figures suggest that shoppers spent less online in November than they did last year – a period in which non-essential retail was closed and shoppers had to shift online. That much had been expected, but the scale of the fall – at close to 20% on last year – came as something of a surprise, as did the lower than usual rise in spending between October and November. It may be that shoppers bought earlier than usual in the face of supply chain concerns, but again, we’ll have to wait and see. 

Our latest Peak 2021 round-up looks at what shoppers want this Christmas, as green concerns grow in importance and as supply chain concerns continue. 

Today we also report as Seasalt says more than half of its sales are now online, in the wake of pandemic lockdowns, and as rental marketplace Hurr raises millions to scale up its disruption of women’s fashion. 

Today’s guest comment comes from Vicky Urrela of Somo, who considers what innovation might look like in the rapid delivery sector.