The UK is a prominent player in the e-commerce market. The market share of the country in e-commerce is 280.55 billion USD now and is expected to rise to 750.80 billion USD by 2029. This is an amazing rise and marks the UK’s prominence in the e-commerce markets.
The increasing dependence of people on the online market for all things small to big the expansion of technologies such as blockchain enabling the scaling of these businesses and the UK being a top consumerist population are the reasons for this boom in e-commerce.
This article will give you an insight into the present state of the UK e-commerce market.
Market Trends in the UK E-commerce Market
The UK, being an educated society, has a majority of its population using technology for everyday activities.
The ease of transactions that such technologies provide is one of the main attractions that spur the growth of all types of e-commerce in the UK.
People are now using contactless payment methods, increasing the market share of e-wallets to 35% in 2022.
The fashion and apparel industry is another major contributor to the growth of e-commerce in the UK.
The UK’s e-commerce fashion industry is set to reach 86 billion USD by the end of 2030.
More than 25% of the total sales of textiles are conducted online. More than half of the Gen Z population purchases clothes and apparel online.
So expanding the ease of use of e-commerce in such areas will boost the overall scope of e-commerce.
Young adults aged between 24 to 35 are the most common spenders in the e-commerce market, with 91% of them making an online purchase.
The young adult population is an important group that e-commerce marketers can target now and in the future.
The millennials prefer to use Instagram and Facebook for online purchases whereas Gen Z prefers Instagram and TikTok for e-commerce purposes.
In the UK, 35% of the population prefers digital wallets for payment, making digital wallets the second most preferred payment method in the UK.
This number is set to grow in the future, encouraging merchants to invest in digital payment methods in the future.
Search engines are the starting point of online shopping. In the UK, 42% of e-commerce purchasers start their purchases with search engines.
In the coming years, more innovations are to be made in the search engine to make them more user-friendly.
Another statistic shows that 60% of online purchases are made through mobile devices.
This number is set to increase in the future as people are now using all-purpose mobile devices on a daily basis.
The UK owes another 12% of its e-commerce industry to cross-border payments. This number is set to rise in the future as international trade and purchases are now moving to the online space.
The clothing and footwear industry is the main contributor to cross-border transactions at 40%, which is followed by consumer electronics goods at 14%.
Such high numbers show the potential for growth of e-commerce across the borders.
The people of the UK primarily use smartphones and laptops for online shopping at 69% and 43%, respectively.
This shows the need for e-commerce platforms to scale their businesses to use such devices optimally.
The online market sees increased activity during particular seasons such as Christmas. Last year, the e-commerce sales in the UK market during Christmas rose to £24.4 billion, which is a year-on-year increase of 3.7%.
People mostly purchased kitchen items, cookware, personal care items, and jewelry during the Christmas season.
Christmas, being a festive season, saw great discount offers on many items, amounting to a total of 11% discount. Such reduced prices also speared high e-commerce sales then.
Also, Read: Top 7 E-Commerce Websites In The UK
The Bottom Line
The general picture of the UK e-commerce market is readable from this article. The UK is a strong market in the e-commerce sector.
Investors can make the deals big if they carefully leverage the possibilities of the industry. New players can make it big by selling fashion and apparel items, footwear, and food and beverages.
They should analyze the market with the help of proven data and make appropriate investment decisions to make maximum profit from this e-commerce boom.
