Bargain-hunting shoppers have given UK digital retailers a big boost over the summer, enjoying a 40% year-on-year hike in sales, according to e-commerce marketing platform Omnisend.

After a busy June, July and August there have been 237,000 more sales made compared to the same period last year, the report claims.
 
Although the data doesn’t break down what’s actually been bought by consumers, it adds up to £40 million worth of products sold by online retailers using the Omnisend platform in the summer, compared with £33.8 million in summer 2023. 

However, it said the rise points to the number of consumers opening sales emails having increased 140% compared with last year when cost of living pressures deterred shoppers from splurging.

And although the strong numbers are not in line with the increase in total product sales, the data suggests that retailers have slashed prices in the hopes of attracting more shoppers.
 
Ahead of official retail sales data for August to be published on Friday (20 September) the UK’s statistics agency had already said UK retail sales have shown steady growth in recent months, driven by factors such as easing inflation and a growth in consumer confidence as disposable income has increased.

Commenting on the data, Greg Zakowicz, senior e-commerce expert Omnisend, said: “The next few months will be critical for the industry. Shopping events ahead of Christmas, such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday, have boomed in popularity over the past decade.

“Cuts made to winter fuel allowance, as well as increased energy prices, could make some pensioners less likely to spend money in the busy shopping season just around the corner.

“Retailers must be prepared to be competitive on pricing, especially going up against e-commerce giants like Amazon, which typically dominate these events.”
 
He added: “Consumers are now wise to the marketing around these events and how often sales periods mislead people into believing that there are deals on products, when the pricing is in fact unchanged from previous months.
 
“On the reverse side, we are also seeing some retailers choosing to consistently advertise affordable pricing in their emails to customers rather than trying to capitalise on sales periods. This may be a more popular tactic used by smaller retailers in the coming months, that may be already facing lean times.”