COVID-19 LatestSee All Keep up with our most recent coverage of the coronavirus fallout and how it's affecting businesses and consumers. Advertising & MarketingSee All EcommerceSee All Financial ServicesSee All HealthSee All TechnologySee All More IndustriesSee All Forecasts Pandemic Pushes UK Retail Ecommerce Past 30% of Total Retail Sales in 2020 Article by Bill Fisher | Oct 19, 2020 DOWNLOAD SHARE TOPICS RETAIL ECOMMERCE SALES UNITED KINGDOM From midnight on March 23 to June 15, the UK government enforced the closure of nonessential retail stores as part of strict lockdown measures. During the intervening 12 weeks, UK consumers who wanted to purchase anything other than groceries or medications could not do so in-store. Even when the high street opened back up, things were far from normal: Social-distancing measures meant queues were commonplace and footfall in stores was limited. In-store mask wearing was strictly enforced. Large proportions of the population continued to shelter at home, while many eschewed physical shopping altogether out of an abundance of caution. Little wonder, then, that retail ecommerce looks set for a bumper year. We forecast that UK consumers will spend £141.33 billion ($180.39 billion) online this year, up a massive 34.7% from 2019. This significant increase will see ecommerce account for more than 30% of total retail sales in the UK for the first time. In 2019, that share stood at just 21.8%. This pandemic bump won’t carry over into next year, though, and a more normal cadence will resume through the end of our forecast period in 2024. In fact, as the market rights itself, 2021 will see a 6.3% decline in UK retail ecommerce sales. It will take a few years for the retail ecommerce sales total to reach 2020’s height. But when they do in 2023, the numbers will be well in excess of anything pre-pandemic, at £143.51 billion ($183.17 billion). Habits that UK consumers formed during lockdown, however, look set to endure. ADVERTISEMENT Limit Holiday Pain Points Is your brand’s digital experience ready for the holidays? Learn retailer best practices to avoid ecommerce setbacks like cart abandonment, payment friction, and more with agile tactics that minimize risk during the peak traffic season. Watch this eMarketer Tech-Talk Webinar, presented by Quantum Metric. Watch Now “There’s often reticence, certainly in the over-65s, to adopt new technology and to make changes in behavioral or consumption patterns,” said Gemma Spence, CEO of OMG Transact, the ecommerce arm of Omnicom Media Group, when she spoke with us in June. “But we’ve found that it takes six weeks to make or break a habit. During the past three months of lockdown, there has been enough time.” There’s been a reinforcement of digital shopping trends among UK consumers, over 65 and otherwise, as the year has progressed. According to a September 2020 report from ChannelAdvisor, this intent to shop digitally strengthened even once shops had opened again. In May of this year, during the height of lockdown, 42% of UK digital buyers said they’d shop digitally more in future. By August, the month after nonessential stores reopened, that proportion had risen to 55%. ChannelAdvisor polled those who had bought items online in the past six months, which could have caused response rates for shopping digitally to skew higher. Nonetheless, we estimate that online shopping will be a significant trend in 2020, with 45.4 million digital buyers in the UK this year, accounting for 81.1% of the population. An accelerated digital shift is clearly underway, and though this shift won’t be sufficient to maintain 2020’s bumper levels of ecommerce sales, the post-pandemic retail landscape in the UK will be more weighted toward digital than ever before. Related Charts & Analysis Article Fewer consumers than ever are spending on the holidays, period Article Black Friday 2021 illustrates shifts in consumer behavior and changing retail strategies Article Say goodbye to open brick-and-mortar stores on Thanksgiving Article Q&A: How Bookshop.org reimagines book ecommerce Daily News Article Micro-influencers present macro opportunities Article 5 trends disrupting the UK retail landscape Article Black Friday 2021 illustrates shifts in consumer behavior and changing retail strategies Article Gen Z prefers people over marketers for product information Latest Reports Report US Neobank Emerging Features Benchmark 2021 Report Insider Intelligence’s Digital Advertising Trends to Watch in 2022 Report Worldwide Digital Ad Spending Year-End Update Report Top 10 Trends in 2022 Popular on Insider Intelligence Report Insider Intelligence’s Digital Advertising Trends to Watch in 2022 Article Micro-influencers present macro opportunities Article 5 trends disrupting the UK retail landscape Article Black Friday 2021 illustrates shifts in consumer behavior and changing retail strategies "Behind the Numbers" Podcast Audio Brand Anatomy: How Reddit is growing its brand through international expansion Audio Around the World with … Holiday shopping in 2021 Audio How insurance is changing, paying when you drive, and insurance as you buy Audio Brand Anatomy: How Mack Weldon went from D2C to omnichannel Trending in United States Report Insider Intelligence’s Digital Advertising Trends to Watch in 2022 Article Micro-influencers present macro opportunities Article Black Friday 2021 illustrates shifts in consumer behavior and changing retail strategies Article 5 trends disrupting the UK retail landscape Coverage Areas → Advertising & Marketing Ad Spending Media Social Media Video Browse All → Health Digital Health Healthcare Providers Mobile Health Telehealth Browse All → Ecommerce Consumer Behavior Coupons Customer Experience Loyalty Browse All → Technology Artificial Intelligence (AI) Cybersecurity Internet of Things (IoT) Mobile Browse All → Financial Services Consumer Banking Insurance Payments Wealth & Asset Management Browse All → More Industries Automotive Sports Telecom Travel Browse All → Geographies Asia-Pacific Central & Eastern Europe Latin America Middle East & Africa North America Western Europe Insider Intelligence Home Research Topics Forecasts About Us Careers Data Partnerships Media Services Advertising Opportunities Newsroom Events Free Content Newsletters Articles Contact Us → Worldwide HQ 11 Times Square New York, NY 10036 1-800-405-0844 Sales Inquiries 1-800-405-0844 ii-sales@insiderintelligence.com * Copyright © 2021 Insider Intelligence Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy PolicyCA Privacy RightsTerms of UseDo Not Sell My Personal Information