Online and Mobile Retailing - Ireland - March 2021

OVERVIEW
What you need to know
Key issues covered in this Report
COVID-19: market context
Issues covered in this Report
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The market
Online sales boom in 2020
Figure 1: Estimated online and mobile retail expenditure, NI and RoI, 2016-26
Figure 2: Expected impact of COVID-19 on online and mobile retailing, short, medium and long term, 19 March 2021
Concerns mount that Brexit will cause price hikes
Online demand threatens the high street
Who’s innovating?
The consumer
Laptop/desktop and smartphone usage narrows for online shopping 
Figure 3: Usage of devices to shop online in the last three months, by location, NI and RoI, January 2021
Clothing was the most purchased item online
Figure 4: Items/services bought online in the last three months, NI and RoI, January 2021
Data breaches and privacy concerns need to be addressed
Figure 5: Agreement with statements related to online and mobile retailing, NI and RoI, January 2021
What we think 
THE MARKET – KEY TAKEAWAYS
Online sales boom in 2020
Brexit adds to uncertainty with consumers worried about price hikes
Online demand threatens the high street
MARKET SIZE AND FORECAST
Short-, medium- and long-term impact on the industry
Figure 6: Expected impact of COVID-19 on online and mobile retailing, short, medium and long term, 19 March 2021
Lockdown: 
Re-emergence: 
Recovery: 
Online shopping boost sees sales soar in 2020 
Figure 7: Estimated online and mobile retail expenditure, IoI, NI and RoI, 2016-26
Figure 8: Online sales as a percentage of all retail sales, Q1 2019-Q4 2020
Figure 9: Indexed online and mobile retail expenditure, NI and RoI, 2016-26
Lessons learned from the last recession 
Figure 10: Estimated value of online and mobile retail sales, NI and RoI, 2008-12
MARKET DRIVERS 
Brexit causes price hike concerns
Figure 11: Agreement with the statement ‘I am worried that it will be more expensive to buy goods online from NI/Irish retailers post-Brexit’, NI and RoI, January 2021
Consumer confidence is fragile, and spending continues to slow
Figure 12: Consumer agreement with the statements ‘I'm trying to add to my savings’ and ‘I'm finding it harder to make ends meet’, IoI, June 2020 and January 2021
At-home purchases increase in 2021
Figure 13: Netted online purchases in the last three months, by location, NI and RoI, November 2019 vs January 2021
Online shopping boom brings more struggles to the high street
Figure 14: Consumer agreement with the statements ‘I am shopping more online’ and ‘I am using click-and-collect more’, IoI, March 2020-February 2021
Smartphone purchases on par with desktop/laptop computers
Figure 15: Devices used to make a purchase online in the last three months, NI and RoI, January 2021
Figure 16: Usage of devices to shop online in the last three months, NI and RoI, 2016-21
5G usage remains low
Figure 17: Consumers who are currently using a 5G network, NI and RoI, April 2020
Figure 18: Reasons why consumers would switch to a 5G network, NI and RoI, April 2020
COMPANIES AND INNOVATIONS – KEY TAKEAWAYS
Group shopping trips move online 
Tesco drone deliveries get trialled in Ireland
AI becomes vital during the pandemic 
WHO’S INNOVATING?
Group shopping trips move online 
Google provides online help to SMEs in Ireland 
Tesco drone deliveries get trialled in Ireland
Assisting the vulnerable via online solutions 
Figure 19: Disagreement with the statement ‘COVID-19/coronavirus has made me more confident shopping online’, by age, NI and RoI, January 2021
AI expected to cut down on returns 
COMPANY PROFILES
Pureplay retailers
Amazon
ASOS
Boohoo
eBay
The Very Group
Multichannel retailers
Arnotts
Harvey Norman
Next
Sainsbury’s/Argos
Tesco
THE CONSUMER – KEY TAKEAWAYS 
Laptop/desktop and smartphone usage narrows for online shopping 
Clothing was by far the most purchased item online
Data breaches and privacy concerns need to be addressed
COVID-19 AND CONSUMER BEHAVIOURS 
COVID-19 curbs on-the-go shopping 
Figure 20: Agreement with statements related to online and mobile retailing, NI and RoI, January 2021
Figure 21: Consumer agreement with the statement ‘I am shopping more from local businesses’, IoI, March 2020-February 2021
COVID-19 prompts more confidence with online shopping
Figure 22: Agreement with statements related to online and mobile retailing, NI and RoI, January 2021
Figure 23: Consumers who are spending more or less time online shopping compared to 12 months ago, NI and RoI, January 2021
DEVICES USED TO SHOP ONLINE
Laptop/desktop device most popular for at-home purchases
Figure 24: Usage of devices to shop online in the last three months, by location, NI and RoI, January 2021
Younger consumers more likely to use smartphones
Figure 25: Consumers who used a smartphone to make a purchase online at home in the last three months, by age, NI and RoI, January 2021
Figure 26: Consumers who used a laptop/desktop to make a purchase online at home in the last three months, by age, NI and RoI, January 2021
Out-of-home online shopping decreases amongst most devices
Figure 27: Online purchases made out of home in the last three months, by device, November 2019 vs January 2021
ITEMS PURCHASED ONLINE
Clothing remains the top purchase made online
Figure 28: Items/services bought online in the last three months, NI and RoI, January 2021
Women were more likely to buy clothes online
Figure 29: Consumers who have bought clothes online in the last three months, by gender, NI and RoI, January 2021
Figure 30: Consumer comfort levels with trying on clothing/footwear in-store, IoI, July-November 2020
Travel services and entertainment purchases online are down
Figure 31: Consumers who have bought entertainment tickets (eg cinema, concerts) and travel services (eg flights, hotels) in the last three months, NI and RoI, November 2019 vs January 2021
Figure 32: Activities that consumers are most looking forward to once the current social distancing measures are relaxed, IoI, February 2021
Takeaway food purchases made online increased in 2020
Figure 33: Consumers who have bought takeaway food/home delivery in the last three months, NI and RoI, November 2019 vs January 2021
Figure 34: Consumer agreement with the following question ‘Since the COVID-19 outbreak, have your priorities changed for eating healthy?’, IoI, May 2020 and February 2021
ONLINE DELIVERY METHODS 
Almost nine in 10 consumers using home delivery
Figure 35: Types of delivery used by consumers when shopping online in the last three months, NI and RoI, January 2021
Home deliveries driven by older consumers
Figure 36: Consumers who have had a product delivered to their home (eg AddressPal, Amazon Prime) in the last three months, by age, NI and RoI, January 2021
Figure 37: Consumers who have bought takeaway food/home delivery in the last three months, NI and RoI, November 2019 vs January 2021
BEHAVIOURS TOWARDS ONLINE AND MOBILE RETAILING 
Brexit causes significant concerns 
Figure 38: Agreement with statements related to online and mobile retailing, NI and RoI, January 2021
Eight in 10 would delay deliveries for free postage
Figure 39: Agreement with the statement ‘Cheaper/free delivery charges make me willing to wait a little longer for deliveries’, by gender, NI and RoI, January 2021
Environmental concerns see consumers move away from physical goods
Figure 40: Agreement with the statement ‘I think it’s more environmentally friendly to opt for digital over physical media’, NI and RoI, January 2021
Data breaches put off seven in 10 consumers 
Figure 41: Agreement with the statement ‘I would be less inclined to shop with a company that has experienced a data breach’, by work status, NI and RoI, January 2021
APPENDIX – DATA SOURCES, ABBREVIATIONS AND SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Data sources
Abbreviations