Posted: 25th Apr, 2005 By: MarkJ
The latest UK research from Mintel highlights how online shopping has become more popular than mail order. During 2004 an estimated 32% purchased products over the Internet (up just 9% over 2000), which compares with 25% for mail order (down from 53% in 2000):
Home shopping retailers must admit that the days of the big book are over and that the great hope of the home shopping industry is, or should be, the internet. The trouble with the mail order industry at the moment is that it tends to see the internet as a threat, where it should be seen as an opportunity.
Last year two in three, 67 per cent of British adults had done some form of home shopping either by catalogue, internet or from a direct seller over the previous 12 months. This is a significant uplift on the 58 per cent in 2002/2003, with this growth entirely a result of the progress of the Internet and to some extent also interactive TV shopping.
The overall home shopping market in Europe was worth some 67.2bn in 2003, increasing marginally to 68.2bn in 2004. In terms of value, mail order catalogues still make up the largest part of the sector, with some 65 per cent of the market, but it appears to be in long term decline.It's interesting that the increase in online purchases has not been directly proportionate to the more radical decrease in mail order shopping. More @
http://www.theretailbulletin.com .