Dissertation

“Even by
2019 the
majority of
retail sales
will remain
offline”
(Chaffey, D. 2015)
Sinha goes on to discuss how “new
initiatives such as click and collect,
which offers the ease and flexibility of a
blended on and off-line experience, mean
it could be argued that there is less need
for physical outlets than ever before”
(Sinha, S. 2015). Whilst this information
is largely the personal opinion of Sinha,
it can be backed up by recent statistics.
In early 2015, Econsultancy reported that
online sales equated to 15.2% of all retail
sales in the UK, meaning that on average
UK consumers will spend £1,174 online
in 2015, which would make us the most
frequent online shoppers in Europe (Moth,
D. 2015).
Econsultancy also estimated that overall
online sales would grow by 18.4% in 2015
(Moth, D. 2015) and an eMarketer report
on UK e-commerce sales found that growth
rates for mobile commerce are around 38%
(Chaffey, D. 2015).
Not only do these figures show e-commerce to be
an exceptionally fast-growing industry, but also
one that clearly dominates the retail environment.
However, whilst these figures do show that
e-commerce remains a growing platform for retail,
this does not mean to say there is no longer
relevance for physical stores. Smart Insights have
predicted, within their e-commerce growth report
for 2015, that “even by 2019 the majority of retail
sales will remain offline” (Chaffey, D. 2015),
meaning it’s not the end for the high street just
yet.
[Fig 12] Click and Collect Ad (2015).
At the 2016 Wearable Technology Show, Marco Dal
Lago, CEO and Co-Founder of CLARA Swiss Tech,
discussed how for every 100 people that enter a
physical store, 30 to 40 people will make purchase;
as opposed to 2 to 3 people making a purchase on
an online platform (Appendix H.8).
Clearly physical stores are still relevant for
consumers, and potentially the most profitable
option.
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