As non-essential retail remained closed for the majority of the last 12 months, many shoppers moved online for the first time. The result was an unprecedented boom for ecommerce companies.
A survey by YouGov and Scurri questioned 2,000 UK residents to see how online shopping had changed after the first national lockdown, with some surprising results from Wales.
How did online shopping increase after lockdown?
Even as the first lockdown was eased and non-essential retail begun to open again across the four nations, consumers were still increasing their online spends. A third of UK residents were still shopping more online than in store, in Wales that figure crept closer to 40%.
In Wales, participants of the study reported that they were still cautious about shopping in store, preferring to stay safe at home and shop online.
How many deliveries were happening in Wales?
Of the people surveyed in Wales, 79% reported that they received between one and three deliveries a week in the period after the first UK-wide lockdown. This has been great news for deliver companies who offer a range of parcel delivery options.
Larisha McGurty, Head of Marketing at parcel2go said “Even when the public start to venture back to normality with a trip out to the shops, we expect the positive online shopping experiences during this period to encourage more online purchases than before”.
What have Welsh people been shopping for?
Like much of the UK, Welsh consumers were investing in their homes when shopping online. Products for home and garden made up the bulk of orders in Wales (17%), showcasing that many Welsh people wanted to improve their houses after spending so much time in them.
In close second, alcohol sales online took 16% of the share of all online sales in Wales, with health, beauty, and fragrance just behind that with 15%.
When do consumers expect things to go back to normal?
In Wales, consumers are looking ahead to the future. Many residents believe it will be a long road to recovery for the retail sector, with nearly 40% saying they think it will take over a year to return to normal.
UK-wide, 6% of consumers do not think the country will ever return to its pre-pandemic life. That figure jumped to almost 10% in Wales, where residents seem less optimistic about the future.
Has online shopping finally taken over retail sales?
As yet, it is unclear whether or not ecommerce will take over as the preferred method of shopping. Analysts expect that their will be a retail boom once lockdown is eased for good, as people are longing for social interaction.
What is clear from the survey, is that online shopping will feature more heavily in our day-to-day life than in the future.
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