“Cyber week” a roaring success for online traders
Retail Excellence has revealed that online sales received a big boost in the "cyber week" sales, a big success for some retailers, but further concern for traditional high street sellers.
Print15 December 2017
Online retail sales experienced a big boost during the much-talked about “cyber week” at the end of last month, according to figures published by Retail Excellence. Originating in the USA as “black Friday”, a post-Thanksgiving push in traditional retailing of things like consumer electronics, fashion, cosmetics and more, the initiative spread online and is now something of a global pre-Christmas phenomenon.
“Our members’ expectations were exceeded,” said Lorraine Higgins, deputy CEO of Retail Excellence, “with numerous retailers reporting it was their busiest trading period in their history. This year there was big value on offer for consumers with many holding out for the biggest deals released on Black Friday.
“Retailers also offered product-specific ‘Daily Deals’ to create added value for consumers,” Higgins said.
According to the report, the big winners in the sales push were pharmacy, cosmetics, electronics, technology and fashion. Many retailers reported sales bumps of between 20% and 60%. Many stores and chains devised advanced marketing campaigns to tie in with the occasion.
The success of cyber week spells good fortune for retailers and consumers, but traditional high street stores are feeling the pressure from online shopping. “Logistic companies reported an increase of up to 40% in deliveries,” Higgins added, further proof of the boost in online trading. “Many orders being fulfilled by retailers operating outside of Ireland and predominately in the UK.
“This remains a massive challenge for the Irish retail industry with Brexit and sterling devaluation exacerbating matters,” she said.
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