Shutl

According to Forrester’s Western European Online Forecast, over the next 5 years online retail across the EU will grow at a compound annual rate of 11% YoY  - outstripping our American cousins across the pond (set to grow at 10% YoY).

The predicted numbers are huge and meaningless: the US is the larger market and is set to hit £164.3 billion by 2014. The EU lags at a forecasted total of £103.6 billion. What’s more palatable is seeing what thas means at the human level. Last year, 2009, Europeans spent an annual average of approximately €483 (£439). This amount is set to rise to €601 (£546) in 2014. A very significant change in spending behaviour.

With more than half of all consumers shopping online, the UK is the largest online retail market in Western Europe. Our online retail sales will apparently rise to some €40 billion (£36.3 billion) by 2014.

What’ll be interesting is to see how the predicted rise in online sales impacts sales across other retail channels. As high speed internet becomes ubiquitous, people will increasingly research product reviews, ratings and information online before purchasing elsewhere. Will the predicted growth in online activity cannibalise or fuel sales across all other channels? And what about the high street…?!

At Shutl we believe there is a real need for deeper cross-channel integration. In order to improve service and drive down costs, consumer demand for the convenience offered by online shopping increasingly needs to be fulfilled with stock that is located local to the consumer. The internet and the high street are therefore intrinsically linked. One cannot truly evolve without pulling the other along with it.

Let’s hope that these numbers have the happy ending that we’re expecting…