BRC-HITWISE DIGITAL RETAIL INSIGHT FEBRUARY …“The two weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day also...

Covering the four weeks: 29 January – 25 February 2017

BRC-HITWISE DIGITAL RETAIL INSIGHT – FEBRUARY 2017

Visits to retail websites up despite slowdown in sales

Retail Website visits:

2.8bn The number of visits to UK retail websites totalled 2.8 billion in

February. This is up 3% year-on-year.

Retail page Views:

34.7bn Almost 35 billion pages were viewed on retail websites in February,

averaging just over 8.6 billion page views per week.

Duration on websites:

06:35 An average time of 6 minutes 35

seconds per visit was spent on retail websites in February, higher than the 06:32 in January.

Pages viewed per visit:

12.5 The average number of pages

viewed per visit for all retail websites was 12.5.

Mobile visits:

51% The proportion of total retail visits

made on Mobile devices was 51% in February, unchanged from January.

2

BRC-HITWISE DIGITAL RETAIL INSIGHT - FEBRUARY 2017


Rachel Lund, Head of Retail Insight and Analytics | British Retail Consortium

“In what was a fairly tepid month for sales in UK, in February total visits to retailers’ website grew 3% on last year. As we saw in 2016, with Christmas and the January sales over and still some weeks until Easter, visits per week dropped compared to last month. With online (non-food) sales growing at 8% on the year, it’s clear that the amount consumers are spending per visit continues to increase. “Browsing in House & Garden and Health & Beauty are still seeing significant growth as retailers are getting to grips with their online offer in these areas. Interestingly these categories saw some of the weakest online sales growth this month, highlighting the customer journey to purchase may play out over weeks or months. Even if consumers are not spending they are researching products. “In contrast, browsing activity in consumer electronics fell for the second month in a row. The lack of significant new product releases in this space is likely to be behind the falling activity. With the recent release of the Nintendo Switch, we expect next month’s figures to reverse the recent trend. “As we progress through what is likely to be a challenging year for retailers, as inflation picks up and budgets are squeezed, optimising their online platforms will be crucial for retailers.”

Christian Marsden, General Manager | Hitwise

“February saw a 3% rise in visits to Shopping & Classifieds year-on-year, showing a stable situation despite fears over shaky consumer confidence, as a result of rising inflation and the impact of Brexit. “Key events, such as Valentine’s Day and London Fashion Week, helped propel online visits for select sub-industries, including: Clothing, Fitness & Footwear (+4% in February year-on-year) and Health & Beauty (+8%). In contrast, Consumer Electronics (-8%) and Books & Home Entertainment (-1%) are continuing its downturn into 2017. “The two weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day also saw an interesting shift in online audiences. Compared to last year, the largest growth of people searching valentine gifts came from males aged 35-44 (41% increase in the share of total searchers), compared to the largest drop from females aged 25-34 (23% decline). This data shows that Valentine’s Day now attracts an even share of gifters and researchers from both males and females. “Retailers need to therefore track how consumer behaviour shifts online, particularly around key retail events. A deeper knowledge of online audiences is critical, as the retail landscape is expected to toughen over the course of the year.”

3



VISITS TO RETAIL WEBSITES TOTALLED 2.8BN IN FEBRUARY

There were over 2.8 billion visits to retail websites in February, an average of 692 million

visits per week.

In our recent BRC-KPMG Online Retail Sales Monitor, we saw sales rise 8.0%, unchanged

from the previous month. Other Non-Food topped the growth rankings table for the second

consecutive month, anecdotally driven by connected home products and Jewellery and

Watch sales. Toys, Clothing, Footwear and Furniture were also top performing categories

online in terms of sales growth. This was reflected somewhat in the retail website visit

numbers, with categories associated with Valentine’s day performing well.

671 683 678 668 668 693 690

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PROPORTION OF VISITS BY CATEGORY AND DEVICE

House and Garden reported the highest growth rate in February, with visits up 12%, the

only category to report double digit growth. Health and Beauty was also popular,

demonstrating growth of 8%, although only accounts for 3% of total visits to retail websites.

Auctions and Clothing, Fitness and Footwear, were the next biggest category in terms of

visits, with growth up 5% and 4% respectively.

Consumer Electronics and Classifieds both reported sharp declines, down 8% and 12%

respectively.

Department Stores, Clothing Fitness and Footwear and Auctions accounted for 72% of all

visits to retail websites.

VISITS BY CATEGORY % GROWTH YOY PROPORTION OF VISITS

House and Garden 12% 9%

Health and Beauty 8% 3%

Auctions 5% 13%

Clothing Fitness and Footwear 4% 18%

Department Stores 3% 41%

Food and Drink 3% 4%

Books Stationery and Home Entertainment -1% 6%

Consumer Electronics -8% 4%

Classifieds -12% 4%

Total Retail 3%

Proportion of visits on

mobile devices

56% 53%38% 44%

56% 51% 53% 57% 57%

0%5%

10%15%20%25%30%35%40%45%50%

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PROPORTION OF VISITS: BY CATEGORY, DEVICE AND GENDER

Across the whole of the industry, retail visits from mobile devices (smartphone or tablets)

accounted for 51% of all visits, unchanged from the previous month. This equates to just over

1.4 billion visits and over 46 million more than seen on desktops.

Engagement on mobile devices was highest for Health and Beauty (57%), House and Garden

(57%) Clothing, Fitness and Footwear (56%), and Classifieds (56%).

Auctions and Books, Stationery and Home Entertainment demonstrated the lowest proportion

of visits from mobile devices, accounting for just 38% and 44% of visits respectively.

The share of total visits that females accounted for was 58%. The Health and Beauty and

Clothing, Fitness and Footwear categories were the most popular amongst females, accounting

for 75% and 71% respectively.

Visits to Consumer Electronics sites showed the highest proportion of male visitors at 56% in

February.

58% 71%44% 50% 52% 53%

58% 66% 75% 62%

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6



VISITS: BY CATEGORY AND TIME

The average number of pages viewed per visit for all retail websites was 12.5 pages in February,

with an average time of 6 minutes 35 seconds per visit.

Visits to Auction sites demonstrated the highest average time with 10 minutes 12 seconds spent per

visit, this was significantly higher than any other sector.

Page views per visit were highest in the Auctions, Department Stores and Clothing, Fitness and

Footwear categories. Average page views per visit were lowest for Consumer Electronics (6.0),

Books, Stationery and Home Entertainment (7.8) and the Health and Beauty (7.7) categories.

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7



PROPORTION OF VISITS BY REGION

The South East (14.1%), London (11.8%) and North West (10.9%) all had the greatest share of

traffic to retail sites in February.

The East, East Midlands, South East, South West, Wales, and Yorkshire all had a higher

proportion of traffic to retail sites than they have share of the population.

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UPSTREAM/DOWNSTREAM – ANALYSIS OF ACTIVITY BEFORE AND AFTER RETAIL WEBSITE VISITS

The percentage of upstream visitors coming from search engines to retail sites was 43.9%, higher than the 43.6% rate seen in January. The downstream rate back to search engines after the retail site visit was 18.4%.

Retail traffic from Social Networking and Forums accounted for 8.7% of retail traffic, just under 241 million visits.

1.8%

2.0%

2.1%

2.6%

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3.5%

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2.9%

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2.4%

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5.7%

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9.2%

18.4%

House and Garden

News and Media - Print

Rewards and Directories

Entertainment - Multimedia

Auctions

Apparel and Accessories

Department Stores

Social Networking and Forums

Search Engines

Before retail visits After retail visits

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APPENDIX: CLOTHING, FITNESS AND FOOTWEAR

UPSTREAM

Search Engines 45%

Apparel and Accessories 12%

Social Networking and Forums 8%

Lifestyle - Fashion 6%

Department Stores 6%

DOWNSTREAM


Search Engines 17%

Lifestyle - Fashion 11%



70

90

110

130

150

170

190

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APPENDIX: CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

UPSTREAM

Search Engines 51%


Business and Finance - Telecommunications 5%

Appliances and Electronics 5%


DOWNSTREAM

Search Engines 17%


Appliances and Electronics 10%


Business and Finance - Telecommunications 6%

15

20

25

30

35

40

Feb

-16

Mar

-16

Ap

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May

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Jun

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Jul-

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0%

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6%

8%

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12%

0%

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6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16%


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APPENDIX: AUCTIONS

UPSTREAM

Search Engines 34%



Auctions 5%

Entertainment - Multimedia 4%

DOWNSTREAM

Search Engines 21%



Auctions 5%

Business and Finance - IT and Internet 4%

50

55

60

65

70

75

80

85

90

95

100

Feb

-16

Mar

-16

Ap

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May-…

Jun

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Jul-

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14%

16%


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APPENDIX: BOOKS, STATIONERY AND HOME ENTERTAINMENT

UPSTREAM

Search Engines 45%




Auctions 3%

DOWNSTREAM

Search Engines 16%



Auctions 4%

Toys and Hobbies 4%

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

60

Feb

-16

Mar

-16

Ap

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6

May

-16

Jun

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Jul-

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10%

12%

14%

16%


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APPENDIX: CLASSIFIEDS

UPSTREAM

Search Engines 47%


Classifieds 5%

Auctions 5%


DOWNSTREAM

Search Engines 19%


Classifieds 9%

Auctions 7%


15

17

19

21

23

25

27

29

31

Feb

-16

Mar

-16

Ap

r-1

6

May

-16

Jun

-16

Jul-

16

Au

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6

Sep

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Oct

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0%1%2%3%4%5%6%7%8%9%

10%

0%2%4%6%8%

10%12%14%16%


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APPENDIX: DEPARTMENT STORES

UPSTREAM

Search Engines 43%




Auctions 3%

DOWNSTREAM

Search Engines 22%



Auctions 5%


100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

Feb

-16

Mar

-16

Ap

r-1

6

May-…

Jun

-16

Jul-

16

Au

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Sep

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Oct

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0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

0%2%4%6%8%

10%12%14%16%


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APPENDIX: FOOD AND DRINK

UPSTREAM

Search Engines 45%



Grocery and Alcohol 4%

Rewards and Directories 3%

DOWNSTREAM

Search Engines 16%



Grocery and Alcohol 6%

News and Media - Print 3%

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Feb

-16

Mar

-16

Ap

r-1

6

May

-16

Jun

-16

Jul-

16

Au

g-1

6

Sep

-16

Oct

-16

No

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6

De

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Jan

-17

Feb

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Ave

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visi

ts in

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0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

0%2%4%6%8%

10%12%14%16%


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APPENDIX: HEALTH AND BEAUTY

UPSTREAM

Search Engines 51%


Health and Beauty 6%



DOWNSTREAM

Search Engines 16%

Health and Beauty 12%




10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30

Feb

-16

Mar

-16

Ap

r-1

6

May

-16

Jun

-16

Jul-

16

Au

g-1

6

Sep

-16

Oct

-16

No

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Jan

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Feb

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0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16%


17



APPENDIX: HOUSE AND GARDEN

UPSTREAM

Search Engines 54%

House and Garden 7%



Lifestyle – House and Garden 3%

DOWNSTREAM

Search Engines 18%

House and Garden 14%



Lifestyle – House and Garden 5%

30

35

40

45

50

55

60

65

70

Feb

-16

Mar

-16

Ap

r-1

6

May

-16

Jun

-16

Jul-

16

Au

g-1

6

Sep

-16

Oct

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No

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Jan

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Feb

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Ave

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0%

2%

4%

6%

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12%

14%

0%

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12%

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18



NOTES TO EDITORS Methodology On the 6th September 2015 Hitwise migrated from a sample of predominately household level data to a new enhanced database of consumer level data which provides full visibility into secure browsing across both visit and search behaviour. Secure site browsing has become increasingly important as organisations deliver their websites through secure protocols and focus their strategy on delivering improved mobile experiences, our new sample much better represents the broad range of ways the users connect to the internet.

19



ENQUIRIES

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) is the go-to trade association for all UK retailers, promoting the story of retail, shaping debates and influencing the issues that matter to the industry.

ABOUT HITWISE Hitwise is a leading provider of consumer measurement and analytical services. We change the way brands understand consumers by connecting consumer decisions, behaviours, attitudes and preferences creating actionable insights to improve customer strategy, media effectiveness and audience engagement. Connexity, Inc. is a technology and data-driven marketing services company that leverages almost twenty years of ecommerce expertise to enable retailers and brands to understand their consumers better, acquire new customers at a lower cost, and increase sales. For retailers, Connexity offers a range of marketing services including search marketing, syndicated product listings, targeted display advertising, and the Bizrate Insights customer feedback program. For marketers and their agencies, Connexity delivers targeted audiences on any device through a programmatic media buying platform. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the company operates sites and business services in the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany including Bizrate, Beso, Shopzilla, Retrevo, TaDa, PrixMoinsCher, and SparDeinGeld. Connexity, Inc., formerly Shopzilla, Inc., is owned by Symphony Technology Group (STG).

(C) British Retail Consortium (2016). The contents of this report and those of all ancillary documents and preparatory materials are the sole property of BRC and are not to be copied, modified, published, distributed or commercially exploited other than with the express permission of BRC or for the purposes of journalistic comment and review. All rights reserved.

BRC

Siobhan Bentley

Analyst - Retail Insight & Analytics, BRC T 0207 854 8961 E [email protected] W www.brc.org.uk

Hitwise

4th Floor Victoria Central, 111 Buckingham Palace Rd, London, SW1W 0SR

T 02070293310 W [email protected]

Connexity UK Ltd., Registered No. 05220340

mailto:[email protected]

BRC-HITWISE DIGITAL RETAIL INSIGHT FEBRUARY …“The two weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day also...

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