E-commerce sees first growth since April 2021 with clothing sales up

Online retail grew by 3.2% year-on-year in September 2024, the first growth in e-commerce since April 2021, with clothing retailers experiencing their first monthly year-on-year growth in two years at 4.2%.

The resurgence in September was largely driven by the first two weeks of the month, which saw year-on-year revenue growth of 11.6% and 10.8% respectively, according to IMRG’s Online Retail Index, which tracks the online sales performance of 220 retailers.

According to IMRG, the UK’s e-commerce association, optimism could now be growing among brands and retailers ahead of Black Friday (25 November 2024) and peak Christmas trading.

The last time the total market experienced positive revenue growth was when it reached 6.7% year-on-year in April 2021.

Between then and September 2024, there have only been two months where growth has been flat or miniscule: up 0.2% in November 2022 and 0.5% in August 2023.

September 2024’s growth can be attributed to several online product categories achieving big revenue spikes. Standout performers were footwear at 13.5%, makeup at 21.3%, fragrance at 18.4%, haircare at 11.3%, and accessories and hobbies at 21.6%.

Andy Mulcahy, Strategy and Insight Director at IMRG, said: “The start of September is the back-to-school week, which is a peak of sorts in retail. That really saw a big uplift this year, whereas the other retail event in September, 100 days to Christmas, brought negative growth, though overall the month balanced out in positive growth.

“So where does that leave us? After such a long and miserable period of decline, it feels like there are cautious reasons for optimism. We’ve seen a sustained recovery in traffic growth over the past two months, following declines across 2023 and the first half of this year, plus marginally better conversion.

“So, it feels like we are perhaps inching toward more reliable performance for e-commerce, which is great news for retailers approaching peak.”