Small and medium-sized online retailers enjoyed rising orders and turnover over the summer, new research has found.
The Actinic Survey of Ecommerce Sales quizzed 200 small and medium-sized businesses who sell online and found that in the third quarter of 2010, the three months to September 30, average revenues rose by 18%. At the same time the number of orders processed improved by an average 13% and shopping cart values rose by 4% from £73.81 to £76.81.
Among the businesses that saw strong rises in turnover were model train retailer www.track-shack.com and www.performancemotorcare.com, which sells car care products.
John Boyes, managing director of track-shack.com, said: “Our third quarter turnover has increased by more than 20% compared to last year’s figures, which we put down to simply holding more stock of the products our customers want.” He says that historically customers looking for the niche products the company sells would have had a long wait for products to arrive. Through research is gaining insights into future demand. “This allows us to work with suppliers to develop new product and stock up on what our customers actually want.”
Rob Mobberley, director and chief executive of performancemotorcare.com, reports a 28% rise in sales income, compared to the previous year. The number of orders is up by 28% and order volume is up by 19%. Mobberley said: “The focus for us is maintaining a high level of custmer service to encourage repeat orders. We have used social media, including Twitter and Facebook to engage with our customers, giving advice and guidance on our car care products and have also introduced customer reviews and feedback so website visitors can make more informed purchases.”
Nick KIngton, managing director, Actinic, said: “These growth figures indicate that online sellers in the SME sector are faring well against poor high street sales. With consumer confidence decreasing in September, as reported by the Nationwide Building Society, it is very encouraging to see etailers are still reporting double digit year-on-year growth. In the run up to Christmas, online merchants are looking well-placed to capitalize from consumers shopping around to get the best deals.”
