M-commerce drives 5% Christmas sales growth at Shop Direct

Online accounted for 80% of its total sales over Christmas, up from 74% in 2011, and mobile accounted for 28% of all online sales, soaring 150% year-on-year. Shop Direct, which operates Littlewoods, Very and Isme,  said 37% of all online customer interactions are now via a mobile device.

Shop Direct group chief executive Alex Baldock said: “The mobile revolution continues to gather pace. People are buying more with it and buying bigger items.”

Baldock said it was well placed to prosper as it had pushed forward advancements such as any device personalisation.

Mobile devices were also the retail group’s top seller over the period. One tablet was sold every 40 seconds over the period, totalling more than 91,000. Kids tablet’s LeapPad 2 and InnoTab 2 were its top selling toys over Christmas, beating the Furby which was in third place.

In fashion, the retailer’s own label dresses were up 32% year-on-year.

The retailer said the week beginning December 9 was its busiest, later than ever before, and more than 90,000 parcels were delivered on Christmas Eve.

Baldock said: “This Christmas was well ahead of last year against strong comparatives, demonstrating that our combination of great products, market-leading financial services and unique e-commerce capabilities is hitting the right note.

“These results provide a solid foundation for us to build on as we accelerate our trajectory to become a world-class digital department store.”

The online giant’s margin was down slightly at -0.3% points due to shifting product mix over Christmas, however it entered its Sale on December 23 with 2% less stock through its focus on stock discipline.

Baldock admitted that its credit option was a big draw for customers over the tough Christmas period. “We make good things easily accessible. We help spread the cost of Christmas. Over 90% of sales are on some sort of finance product.”

However post-Christmas, Shop Direct expects sales to slow and it to remain broadly flat this year.

Baldock said: ”With consumer confidence remaining subdued, retailers will have to fight even harder to win market share. To ensure we remain a winner, we will continue to invest in delivering a great digital shopping experience for our millions of customers, whenever, wherever and however they choose to shop with us.”