For the second month running, the average basket value was at a seven-year high for that month of the year. One of the main drivers for online retail in recent years has been the growth of sales made through smartphone devices. For the past three months, however, the rate of growth through these devices has roughly halved year-on-year – in February 2016 it was more than 96% YoY, but in February 2017 it was just more than 57%.
Tablet growth also remains low (3.5%). The slowdown in growth through mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) is specific to online-only retailers. For multichannel retailers, which have both an online and in-store offering, growth in sales made on mobile devices was up slightly year-on-year, while the average basket value of online retail sales in general rose by nearly GBP 20.
Across sectors, sales for electricals were up with 1.5%. While low, it is at least in positive territory following two months of negative growth. The average basket value was down GBP 8 year-on-year, however.
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