England’s early exit from the World Cup hit online sales in June, with beer sales plunging following the national team’s failure to win a single match in the tournament, according to the etail trade association the IMRG .
The figures emerged with June’s IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index today. It showed online sales growing by just 9% last month, and falling by 5% compared to May. That, said the IMRG, was the steepest drop between May and June since 2008.
Fast growth came in the beers, wines and spirits sector early on in the month, with sales climbing steadily during the month right up till the week of England’s fatal match against Uruguay, which took place on June 19. But in the week starting June 15, sales fell away.
“Football fans clearly stocked up their fridges in anticipation for the World Cup as the beers, wines and spirits sector surged 20% year-on-year last month and the 17% growth we saw from May to June was the steepest jump between those months we have ever seen in this sector,” said Tina Spooner, chief information officer, IMRG. “But the week England were knocked out we saw a distinct 15% drop in alcohol sales as fans were denied the chance to raise a glass to a repeat of 1966.”
Travel sales grew slowly, up by 3%, year-on-year, and electricals were up by 7%.
“It’s fair to say June was not a good month for British sport and the poor performance in the electricals sector, with growth of just 7% year-on-year, suggests Britons were not too interested in buying new technology to watch the action, whilst higher than average temperatures and lots of sunshine kept customers outdoors.”
Conversion rates rose to 4.8% last month, however, while average basket values grew by 5%, year-on-year, to £83, excluding travel.
Chris Webster, VP, head of retail consulting and technology at Capgemini, said: “Online sales during the first half have been generally consistent with our earlier growth forecast of 17%, but at 14%, the lowest quarterly growth in two years, quarter two has been heavily skewed by June’s poor performance.
“The figures reveal just how influential a turbulent economy can have on our shopping behaviour. The current uncertainty around interest rates has resulted in a dip in consumer confidence and as a result we’re still happy to buy the everyday items but we’d prefer to hold off on those expensive treats.”
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