Table of Contents
Overview
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- What you need to know
- Issues covered in this Report
Executive Summary
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- The market
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- Figure 1: Estimated online and mobile retail expenditure, NI and RoI, 2013-18
- Forecast
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- Figure 2: Indexed estimated online and mobile retail expenditure, NI and RoI, 2013-23
- Market factors
- UK the leading e-commerce market in the EU
- RoI firms receiving the most online orders in the EU
- Multi-device ownership makes reaching consumers online harder for retailers
- Companies, brands and innovations
- The consumer
- Consumers most likely to shop online at home
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- Figure 3: Usage of devices to shop online in the last 12 months, NI and RoI, November 2017
- Fashion the main items bought online
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- Figure 4: Types of items/services bought online in the last 12 months, NI and RoI, November 2017
- Home deliveries remain the main delivery method
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- Figure 5: Types of delivery used by consumers when shopping online in the last 12 months, NI and RoI, November 2017
- Most consumers do not return items ordered online
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- Figure 6: Returning goods bought online in the last 12 months, NI and RoI, November 2017
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- Figure 7: How consumers rate their overall level of satisfaction with the returns process, NI and RoI, November 2017
- Free postage remains important to Irish consumers
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- Figure 8: Agreement with statements related to online and mobile retailing, NI and RoI, November 2017
- What we think
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Sales via online and mobile channels to continue growing in 2018
- UK remains the top e-commerce market in Europe
- EU consumers buying goods online from RoI firms
- Multiple device ownership a challenge for retailers
Market Size and Forecast
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- Online sales to grow in 2018
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- Figure 9: Estimated online and mobile retail expenditure, IoI, NI and RoI, 2013-23
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- Figure 10: Proportion of total retail sales made online, UK (including NI), 2011-17
- Growth in online retailers’ sales expected to continue
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- Figure 11: Indexed estimated online and mobile retail expenditure, NI and RoI, 2013-23
Market Drivers
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- UK is Europe’s top e-commerce market
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- Figure 12: Online purchases in selected European Union markets, 2017
- Rural SMEs most likely to think internet connection is poor
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- Figure 13: How SMEs rate Irish broadband speed and reliability, RoI, October 2017
- Figure 14: Improvements SMEs have seen to their internet infrastructure’s speed and reliability in the last 12 months, RoI, October 2017
- National Broadband Plan in RoI delayed further
- RoI has highest proportion of firms receiving online orders in the EU
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- Figure 15: Percentage of firms that have received orders via their website or app in selected European Union markets, 2016
- Figure 16: Percentage of firms that have sold goods online to other selected European Union markets, 2016
- Transport costs a barrier to selling goods to other EU markets
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- Figure 17: Top five barriers to selling goods online to other EU member states, 2016
- High device ownership provides opportunities for retailers
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- Figure 18: Ownership of or access to mobile technology devices, NI and RoI, 2017 and 2018
- Irish consumers continue in-store browsing and online purchasing
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- Figure 19: Agreement with the statement ‘I prefer to look at a product in-store and then buy it online’, NI and RoI, 2017 and 2018
- New data protection laws will have implications for online retailers
Companies and Brands – What You Need to Know
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- Amazon looks to extend its ‘real-world’ consumer interactions
- New stores could help Harvey Norman grow online orders
- eBay dropping PayPal as payments processing partner
Who’s Innovating?
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- Touch it, buy it
- The Treasure Truck visits the UK
- Smashbox launches chatbot feature in the UK to encourage product trial
Competitive Strategies
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- Pureplay retailers
- Amazon
- Key facts
- Green light for Amazon Go?
- ASOS
- Key facts
- ASOS launching ‘try before you buy’ and same-day delivery
- eBay
- Key facts
- eBay dropping PayPal as payment processing partner
- eBay completes acquisition of Terapeak
- Shop Direct Group (Littlewoods Ireland)
- Key facts
- Sixth consecutive record-breaking Christmas for Shop Direct
- Multichannel retailers
- Arnotts
- Key facts
- Dunnes
- Key facts
- Harvey Norman
- Key facts
- Harvey Norman looking to grow its store network in RoI
- Next
- Key facts
- Sainsbury’s (NI only)
- Key facts
- Argos
- Sainsbury’s trials first 30-minute click-and-collect
- Tesco
- Key facts
- Tesco speeds up home delivery services
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Laptops and desktops remain the devices of choice for shopping online at home
- Consumers most likely to buy clothing and travel-related services online
- Irish consumers show strong preference for home deliveries
- Data security remains a concern for online shoppers
Devices Used to Shop Online
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- Home remains the preferred online shopping location
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- Figure 20: Usage of devices to shop online in the last 12 months, NI and RoI, November 2017
- Late Gen-Xers most likely to buy goods online using a laptop or desktop
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- Figure 21: Usage of desktop/laptop computers to shop online while at home, by age, NI and RoI, November 2017
- Students shopping online via smartphone when out of home
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- Figure 22: Use of smartphones to shop online in the last 12 months, by gender and work status, NI and RoI, November 2017
Items Purchased Online
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- Clothing remains the top item bought online
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- Figure 23: Types of items/services bought online in the last 12 months, NI and RoI, November 2017
- Women and parents buying clothes online
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- Figure 24: Consumers who have purchased clothing, footwear and accessories online in the last 12 months, by gender and presence of children in the household, NI and RoI, November 2017
- Millennials buying physical and digital media content
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- Figure 25: Consumers who have streamed or downloaded books/music/movies/games downloads (including rentals) online in the last 12 months, by age, NI and RoI, November 2017
- Booking travel services online appeals to affluent consumers
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- Figure 26: Consumers who have purchased travel services (eg flights, holiday packages, hotels) online in the last 12 months, by age and social class, NI and RoI, November 2017
Delivery Methods Used
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- Home deliveries preferred for online purchases
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- Figure 27: Types of delivery used by consumers when shopping online in the last 12 months, NI and RoI, November 2017
- Home deliveries appeal to women, particularly in RoI
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- Figure 28: Consumers who have had goods purchased online delivered to home, by gender, NI and RoI, November 2017
- Retailer click-and-collect points popular among married NI consumers
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- Figure 29: Consumers who have collected goods purchased online in-store from the retailer that they bought from, by marital status, NI and RoI, November 2017
Returning Goods Bought Online
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- Most consumers do not return goods bought online
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- Figure 30: Returning goods bought online in the last 12 months, NI and RoI, November 2017
- Returning online purchases highest among younger consumers
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- Figure 31: Consumers who have returned goods purchased online in the last 12 months, by gender and age, NI and RoI, November 2017
- High satisfaction with online returns process
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- Figure 32: How consumers rate their overall level of satisfaction with the returns process, NI and RoI, November 2017
- Rural most satisfied with returns process
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- Figure 33: Consumers rating the returns process as ‘very good’, by location, NI, November 2017
- Figure 34: Consumers rating the returns process as ‘very good’, by location, RoI, November 2017
Attitudes towards Online and Mobile Retailing
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- Price of delivery remains important to consumers
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- Figure 35: Agreement with statements related to online and mobile retailing, NI and RoI, November 2017
- Free postage has broad appeal
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- Figure 36: Agreement with the statement ‘I am willing to wait longer for deliveries if it means cheaper/free postage’, by gender, NI and RoI, November 2017
- Figure 37: Agreement with the statement ‘I would be willing to pay an annual/monthly postage fee that ensured next-day delivery (eg Amazon Prime)’, by gender, NI and RoI, November 2017
- Data security remains important to Irish online shoppers
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- Figure 38: Agreement with the statement ‘I would be less inclined to shop with a company that has experienced a data breach’, by age, NI and RoI, November 2017
- Over-35s prefer shopping on standard websites
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- Figure 39: Agreement with the statement ‘I find it easier to shop via a standard website compared to a dedicated app’, by age, NI and RoI, November 2017
- More Ireland-based retailers online appeal to parents
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- Figure 40: Agreement with the statement ‘I would shop online more if there were more NI/ RoI-based online retailers’, by presence of children in the household, NI and RoI, November 2017
Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
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- Data sources
- Market size rationale
- Generational cohort definitions
- Abbreviations
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