Retail IT News

Total retail search volumes grew nine per cent in the second quarter of 2012 as searches via mobiles and tablets rocketed 113 per cent year-on-year, according to figures released today.  According to the British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) Online Retail Monitor in association with Google, food and drink saw the strongest growth for mobile in the three months to the end of June, up 163 per cent year-on-year, presenting an opportunity for multichannel supermarkets.  “Around a fifth of all online spending is on food and drink but only a small proportion - four per cent - of total grocery spending happens online,” Stephen Robertson, BRC Director General, explained.  “With non-food goods dominating online spending, there are huge opportunities for food retailers to expand their internet businesses and this will be a big area of competition in the coming months and years.”  Use of tablets also saw a substantial rise, with these searches accounting for 40 per cent of all mobile searches over the quarter, highlighting the growth in popularity of such devices to price check products prior to purchase.  Google’s Retail Director Peter Fitzgerald noted that, while much has been made of reductions in sales and footfall over the early summer months thanks to ongoing gloomy weather, retail query growth in April was strong.  “This shows that people were still online and shopping,” Fitzgerald said.  “Q2 was also another big quarter for mobile. Some of the top days for mobile queries were around the Q2 bank holidays.  “This demonstrates two central trends around mobile. First, the local trend - with so many people out and on the go we see mobile queries rise.  “Second, there is the trend of using mobile devices while watching TV. This drives up mobile queries around the bank holidays, which are big TV viewing days.”