OPINION
E-COMMERCE IN WHOLESALE TOM FENDER, DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR, TWC
IS E-COMMERCE THE NEXT BATTLEGROUND FOR WHOLESALE? AS E-COMMERCE SALES IN THE UK CONTINUE TO ROCKET, WHOLESALERS WHO AREN’T DIGITALLY ADVANCED (OR DON’T HAVE PLANS TO BECOME SO), RISK LAGGING BEHIND THEIR CUSTOMERS’
O
SHOPPING EXPECTATIONS, SAYS TWC’S TOM FENDER.
ne major consequence of coronavirus has been huge growth in e-commerce. To illustrate that point, here is a summary of the e-commerce situation in the UK and USA put together using government statistics: E-commerce’s share of total retail sales in the UK has risen to over 30%. To put into perspective, the value of retail sales in the UK in 2019 was £394bn. It has continued to rise post lockdown – even as shops have re-opened in the UK. The UK is significantly more advanced in e-commerce sales than USA (most people perceive it to be the other way round): about 33% higher share of sales in the UK are via digital compared to the USA. The implication is if your business isn’t digitally advanced (or doesn’t have plans to become digitally advanced), you’re probably behind your customers’ shopping expectations… and this might mean they’ll migrate to other providers of the same products and services as your own.
A picture paints a thousand words – here’s online’s share (in red) of total retail sales in the UK excluding grocery:
This week, Waitrose released figures showing that three quarters of people in the UK now do at least some of their grocery shopping online. Online grocery sales doubled
22 I SLRMAG.CO.UK / ISSUE 19 / WEDNESDAY 26 AUGUST 2020
