Cashing in: Covid pandemic sees rise in online sales as store sales fall

Online retail sales in Great Britain saw a total growth of 52.8% in October 2020 compared to pre-pandemic levels back in February 2020.

The Office for National Statistics published a report into the effect the coronavirus pandemic has had on the retail sector, comparing sales from February 2020, prior to the pandemic, to October 2020.

The findings of the report saw online sales see a growth in all areas due to people having to adapt to shops closing and decreased accessibility in store.

Food sales saw the biggest growth online from October to February as they rose 99.2% , but in store sales fell by just over 2% [2.1%].

Non-food, department, clothing and household goods stores online sales all saw growth.

British Retail Consortium chief executive Helen Dickinson says lockdown has changed consumers’ shopping habits, but noted the effect on high street retailers.

“Lockdown also appears to have permanently changed some consumers’ shopping habits, with online sales continuing to boom despite shops reopening in June.

“Meanwhile, city centre retailers continue to be devastated by low footfall and poor sales, as office workers stayed away for yet another month.”

Clothing stores saw the biggest decline in sales from February to October, falling 22.1%, while department stores saw a decline of 14.1% in in-store sales.

The only sector that saw an increase in-store was household good stores with a growth of 3.2%.

In December 2020, stores should see a rise in a sales with new lockdown restrictions allowing non-essential stores to reopen from December 2.