UK High Streets See Renaissance Despite Growing eCommerce Push

Besides confirming the findings in PYMNTS’ recent “Global Digital Shopping Index” when it comes to differing payment methods used across Europe, a recent report by Tribe Payments has highlighted differences between the way European retailers perceive the future prospects of in-store shopping depending on where they’re located.

Read the report: 2022 Global Digital Shopping Index

The Tribe report, which was based on a survey of eCommerce and multi-channel merchants across Germany, Lithuania, Spain, the Netherlands and the U.K., found that across those countries, 40% of online retailers intended to open a physical store in the next three years.

Yet breaking this number down on a country-by-country basis, the report found that eCommerce retailers’ intentions to branch out into in-store sales differed greatly.

In Spain and the U.K., respectively, 69% and 61% of online stores surveyed said they wanted to open a physical store in future, yet in the Netherlands, only 2% of merchants shared this ambition.

Given the current economic situation, in which many European shoppers find themselves struggling to keep up with rising inflation — especially in the price of food and fuel — trying to decipher the health of the high street at this point in time is difficult.

For example, data from the U.K.’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveals that retail sales fell by 0.1% in June 2022 following a fall of 0.8% in May. Sales were 2.2% above their pre-COVID February 2020 levels, but down over the past year.

Comparing that to the growth of what the ONS calls “non-store retailing,” which is predominantly eCommerce, the data shows that sales volumes fell by 3.7% in June 2022 but were still up 20.8% compared to their February 2020 levels.

The ONS data also suggests that in the U.K., if eCommerce sales have suffered more from the recent decline in consumer confidence, that must be contextualized by the huge growth the sector experienced in 2020 and 2021.

Consider, for example, that the ONS reported that a wave of eCommerce business closures was the main factor behind the U.K.’s all-time record for businesses being struck off the national register in Q2 2022.

See also: Wave of eCommerce Flops Behind Record 113,700 UK Business Closures in Q2

If the U.K.’s high streets are showing a level of resilience that online stores aren’t, it provides a clue as to why so many British eCommerce businesses are interested in opening physical stores.

Another PYMNTS report, “The 2022 Global Digital Shopping Playbook: UK Edition,” found that U.K. consumers’ continued attachment to brick-and-mortar stores offered an opportunity for retailers that offer a hybrid shopping experience.

Read more: The 2022 Global Digital shopping Playbook: UK Edition

That report found that U.K. merchants that integrated digital features into their brick-and-mortar stores provide a more seamless experience than competitors.

According to the Digital Shopping Playbook, U.K. consumers who order online and pick up in-store experience 10% less shopping friction than the average U.K. consumer. Those who use their smartphones to enhance their in-store shopping journeys experience 41% less friction than those who don’t.

Related: Mobile Shopping Still Underutilized by UK Consumers Despite Merchant Efforts

Finally, the Digital Shopping Playbook demonstrates that the U.K. has a lower preference for smartphone-enhanced brick-and-mortar shopping, being the only country PYMNTS studied where researchers observed no substantial year-over-year growth in the share of shoppers using their smartphones in this manner to enhance their in-store experience.

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