ROI & NI shoppers spending £1,033 online
Mobile and online retail in Northern Ireland and the Republic is growing exponentially, with the average person spending £1,033 in the past year.
Mintel’s ‘Online and Mobile Retailing – Ireland, March 2016’ report found that over the last 12 months, the value of online and mobile retail sales is estimated to have grown 14.5 per cent on an all-Ireland basis.
Digital retail across the region was worth £5.9 billion (€7.5 billion) in 2015, and expected to reach £6.7 billion (€8.6 billion) in 2016.
This equates to an average online spend of £1,033 (€1,349) per person among the island of Ireland’s 6.4 million population.
Mintel’s analysis showed Northern Irish consumers more likely to purchase online using laptops or desktops, with 80 per cent shopping this way. Some 69 per cent in RoI did the same.
Out of the home, 26 per cent of NI shopping took place using a smartphone, while 18 per cent in RoI shopped on their cell.
Clothing, footwear and accessories are the most popular items Irish consumers buy online (57 per cent of consumers in NI and 53 per cent in RoI).
While home delivery is still the most popular, click and collect services are especially common in among NI consumers, with 52 per cent having used the service compared to just 31 per cent in the south.
Mintel’s research also found that, despite positive growth in retail sales online, delivery and minimum spend charges are constraining growth.
“Indeed, these additional costs, combined with the deep discounting in physical stores, have seen the price differential between online and offline erode, attracting consumers back into high street stores,” a Mintel spokesperson said.
