Strong growth for online sales

Online sales in March were 14 per cent up on last year, according to the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index with shoppers spending a total of £5.1 billion online.
And the widening gap between multi-channel and online-only retailers continued to increase in March. Those with both a high-street and online presence witnessed a 19 per cent growth on average compared with March last year, while online experienced just 6 per cent.
The Index has seen 18 per cent growth during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, – the strongest first quarter performance in three years.
Chris Webster, head of retail consulting and technology at Capgemini said: “The 18 per cent growth in the Index during Q1 is indicative of a new trend. Consumers are indeed tightening belts, but they are still shopping, and have simply become more strategic in their buying habits.”