Clipper reports milestone for online retail

Retailers such as John Lewis have benefited from Clippers new retail focused click-and-collect solution

Clipper Logistics, the firm that distributes goods for retailers such as John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, Asda'‹ '‹and Morrisons,'‹ '‹'‹said the festive period saw mixed fortunes for UK retailers.

The Leeds-based group said online sales, and mobile sales in particular, performed well, but high-street fortunes were mixed.

The group said: "Some suggested that this year would be the first where online would deliver a greater sales figure than some retail store estates on key days – something which is backed up by our data.

"If this figure is validated across the sector, it’s a huge milestone for retail and something that could create further opportunities and challenges."

On the high street, Clipper said it hadn't seen the fire-sale approach adopted by some retailers in previous Christmas peaks. This time sales were markedly more measured, suggesting a more confident and pre-planned approach to sales strategy. It added that this is only possible with a robust supply chain process in place.

"Just because Christmas is over, it doesn’t mean the retail supply chain can sit back and recover," said the firm in a Christmas update.

"Although we’re now well into the New Year, retailers and logistics companies are still processing deliveries, returns and orders."

Clipper said that every year, the traditional Boxing Day sales seem to arrive earlier, with some retailers emailing their databases on Christmas Eve to tell customers the best way to spend Christmas money/gift cards.

"The truth is, for retailers and their service providers, peak trading has truly become a multi-day event," the report said.

"Whereas in the past, we’d see significant peaks for individual days – whether that be Black Friday, Boxing Day or the first working day of January – the retail sector has successfully applied some smoothing to these sales period spikes."

Clipper said that customers have become more savvy – often waiting until the last minute to make their purchases. It said it has heard reports of people delaying their present-giving to fit in with the sales.

"It has become a competition over who blinks first," the report said.

The group said that the rise in online shopping meant a rise in demand for deliveries.

"This places significant pressure on retailers and the logistics solutions they have in place," Clipper said.

"This surge in the popularity of ordering online created some challenges, but non-food retailers, such as John Lewis, have become savvy to the problem and benefited from Clipper’s new retail focused click-and-collect solution, which performed admirably across peak, helping to lock-in customer loyalty.

"The success of Click & Collect overall is evidenced by our own data which showed outputs from some of our shared use retailer sites hitting over 65 per cent of all orders being delivered by this channel – and our in-house data also suggests that the Click & Collect growth could be up by 18 per cent year on year during the peak sales period."

The firm said that if retailers have a flexible enough logistics solution, disappointment can be avoided, even at peak times.

"For example, Clipper worked with several retailers to extend the delivery order deadline for Christmas by a day or two to accommodate the amplified demand," said the report.