Amid the coronavirus crisis, it has arguably never been more important, nor more difficult, for retailers to understand their customers.

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As retailers grapple to understand evolving consumer trends and how they could shape the future of commerce amid the coronavirus pandemic, Retail Week has joined forces with analytics specialist The Smart Cube to monitor online shopping habits. 

Our bi-weekly Coronavirus Consumer Pulse monitor pulls together data from a multitude of sources to better understand consumer behaviour and sentiment, and establish the businesses that are emerging as the online winners during the crisis.

Lockdown uplift

Online traffic surged ahead of the second England-wide lockdown as retailers’ websites benefited from an influx of nervous consumers.

Many observers had expected physical locations to be the big winners ahead of the reintroduction of social restrictions, as consumers took the opportunity to shop in non-essential retail stores.

But online operators also appear to have benefited from an uplift in traffic in the two weeks prior to lockdown 2.0.  

The BRC has encouraged people to shop early for Christmas presents this year amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and that message appears to have resonated across stores and online.

Average daily visits to retail websites jumped 10.6% from 314,445 in the week beginning October 11 to 347,712 in the week starting October 25. 

The highly anticipated resumption of strict national restrictions, including the closure of non-essential retail, pubs and restaurants, was announced by Boris Johnson at the end of that week. 

An increasing number of local lockdowns in the build-up to his press conference on October 31 would have also driven more shoppers online during that two-week period.

New fashion peak

Traffic to fashion websites hit its highest level so far this year in the week beginning October 25, suggesting that the BRC’s rallying cry for consumers to shop early for gifts had made an impact. 

Average daily visits to fashion retailers’ websites hit 397,808 during that seven-day period, according to Similar Web data, higher than the sector’s previous 2020 peak at the end of September.

H&M was the only fashion retailer analysed in the Coronavirus Consumer Pulse to see a decline in online traffic over the latest two-week period. Average daily hits dipped 4.3% from 362,082 in the week beginning October 11 to 346,320 two weeks later.  

Marks & Spencer was the biggest winner in the fashion category, as daily visits to its website jumped 13% to 887,644 across the same two-week period. 

Next grew traffic at an almost identical rate, as average daily hits moved back above 1 million in the week beginning October 25.

Visits to Asos increased 9.2% from 531,243 in the week beginning October 11 to 580,022 a fortnight later.  

Stockpiling 2.0

Grocery retailers were the other big online beneficiaries from nervousness among consumers in the run-up to lockdown 2.0. Daily traffic to the websites of food retailers increased 12.3% from 501,103 in the week commencing October 11 to 562,797 two weeks later.

Asda saw its busiest week since the height of the pandemic as average daily visits to its website moved back above 1 million for the first time since May.

The 1,053,755 daily visits it received to its website in the week beginning October 25 was a 12.6% increase on two weeks previous. That is likely to have been aided by the northern bias in Asda’s store estate with many of the localised lockdowns implemented prior to the reintroduction of national measures focused on the North of England.   

Many of Asda’s rivals also registered similar traffic patterns with Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Aldi and Waitrose also all achieving their busiest online weeks since May.

Pureplay grocer Ocado, however, appears to be suffering as a result of capacity constraints. It had to prioritise existing customers at the height of the pandemic following a huge spike in demand, with 671,000 people visiting its website every day shortly after national lockdown measures were introduced in March. Average daily visits reached 263,450 in the week commencing October 25, just 2.9% up on two weeks previous. 

Home comforts?

Traffic to home and DIY websites had been on the wane since August but there are hopes that a second lockdown will drive a second spike in consumers taking on renovation projects. 

During the week beginning October 25, home and DIY websites received an average of 427,747 visits every day. That was an 8.4% increase on two weeks previous and was the sector’s busiest online week since the week beginning August 30.

Dunelm, Ikea, DFS and Kingfisher stablemates B&Q and Screwfix gained the most ground online during the latest two-week period analysed in the Coronavirus Consumer Pulse.   

B&Q registered the most significant increase in online traffic, as average daily visits jumped 13.9% from 760,750 in the week beginning October 11 to 866,311 a fortnight later.

Homewares chain Dunelm enjoyed an 11.1% uplift in online traffic from 546,437 in the week starting October 11 to 607,299 in the seven days beginning October 25.

Sofa retailer ScS and garden centre operator Dobbies were the only two retailers in this category assessed in the Coronavirus Consumer Pulse to see a drop in web traffic during the two-week period. 

Shop early, shop often

Health and beauty, another category, like fashion, which is usually popular with consumers shopping for Christmas gifts, also reported a strong uplift in online customers. It offered further evidence that the BRC’s campaign for consumers to shop early for presents this year was striking a chord. 

The likes of Boots, Superdrug, The Fragrance Shop and Cult Beauty all benefited from that trend, while health and wellness retailer Holland & Barrett enjoyed a strong uptick in online traffic.  

High street giant Boots, renowned for its annual three-for-two offer on Christmas gift sets, experienced a 17.5% spike in website traffic from a daily average of 569,122 hits in the week beginning October 11 to 668,863 two weeks later. That was Boots’ busiest online week since mid-March, just before the first national lockdown.  

Superdrug enjoyed an 11.7% increase in average daily visits to its website over the same period, hitting 329,744 hits per day in the week beginning October 25. 

Retailers will be hoping such trends continue during the crucial golden quarter at a time when non-essential stores have been forced to close.  

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To find out more about The Smart Cube or the Coronavirus Consumer Pulse monitor, email retail.solutions@thesmartcube.com