Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- The market
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- Figure 1: Estimated online and mobile retail expenditure, IoI, NI and RoI, 2015-20
- Forecast
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- Figure 2: Estimated online and mobile retail expenditure, IoI, NI and RoI, 2015-25
- Market factors
- In-store shopping remains more popular than online
- Smartphone device ownership on the rise
- Rural consumers less likely to have internet connection
- 5G is now live in urban areas
- Companies and innovations
- The consumer
- At-home online shopping more popular than out-of-home
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- Figure 3: Usage of devices to shop online in the last three months, by location, NI and RoI, November 2019
- Clothing is the top purchase made online
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- Figure 4: Types of items/services bought online in the last three months, NI and RoI, November 2019
- Home delivery is the preferred delivery method
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- Figure 5: Types of delivery used by consumers when shopping online in the last three months, NI and RoI, November 2019
- Data breaches put off Irish consumers
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- Figure 6: Agreement with statements related to online and mobile retailing, NI and RoI, November 2019
- Consumers willing to wait longer on free deliveries
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- Figure 7: Agreement with statements related to online and mobile retailing, NI and RoI, November 2019
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Almost 12% growth forecast in 2020
- In-store shopping remains more popular than online
- Smartphone device ownership on the rise
- Urban consumers benefit from better internet connections
- IoI launches 5G
Market Sizes and Forecast
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- Double-digit growth expected in 2020
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- Figure 8: Estimated online and mobile retail expenditure, IoI, NI and RoI, 2015-25
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- Figure 9: Indexed online and mobile retail expenditure, NI and RoI, 2015-25
- Potential for half of ecommerce sales to come via mobile devices
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- Figure 10: Percentage of UK retail ecommerce sales purchased via smartphones, UK (including NI), 2016-21
Market Drivers
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- In-store remains the top channel to shop, though online is increasing
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- Figure 11: Consumers who shop weekly (excluding grocery retailing), by channel, RoI, 2017-19
- Device ownership remains strong in Ireland
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- Figure 12: Usage of devices to shop online in the last three months, NI and RoI, 2015-19
- Nine in 10 households have internet access in Ireland
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- Figure 13: Household internet access (includes broadband), by region, RoI, 2017-19
- Strong drop-off in broadband speeds in NI rural areas
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- Figure 14: Fixed broadband rates, by speed/quality, urban vs rural, NI, 2019
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- Figure 15: Consumers with access to full fibre broadband, by region, UK (2019)
- 5G comes to Ireland
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- Figure 16: Consumer agreement with statements related to 5G, RoI, 2018
- 5G rolls out, but consumers are still more likely to online shop at home overall
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- Figure 17: Locations Irish consumers have online shopped in the last three months, NI and RoI, November 2019
Companies and Brands – What You Need to Know
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- Online retailers go green
- Click-and-collect companies work smarter with partners
- Convenience-driven delivery solutions
Who’s Innovating?
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- Click-and-collect companies partner up
- Lidl moves online in Dublin
- eCommerce meets social media
- Self-drive delivery vans – the future?
Companies Strategies – Key Players
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- Pureplay retailers
- Amazon
- Key facts
- Recent developments
- ASOS
- Key facts
- Recent developments
- Boohoo
- Key facts
- Recent developments
- eBay
- Key facts
- Recent developments
- The Very Group
- Key facts
- Recent developments
- Multi-channel retailers
- Arnott’s
- Key facts
- Recent developments
- Harvey Norman
- Key facts
- Recent developments
- Next
- Key facts
- Recent developments
- Sainsburys/Argos
- Key facts
- Recent developments
- Tesco
- Key facts
- Recent developments
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- At-home online shopping more popular than out-of-home
- Clothing is the top purchase made online
- Home delivery is the most popular delivery method
- Personal data breaches concern Irish consumers
Devices Used to Shop Online
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- Smartphones used most for online shopping in NI
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- Figure 18: Devices used to shop online in the last three months, NI and RoI, November 2019
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- Figure 19: Usage of devices to shop online in the last three months, by location, NI and RoI, November 2019
- Younger consumers driving online shopping via smartphone
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- Figure 20: Consumers who have used a smartphone for online shopping in the last three months, by age, NI, November 2019
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- Figure 21: Consumers who have used a smartphone for online shopping in the last three months, by age, RoI, November 2019
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- Figure 22: Consumers who have used a desktop/laptop PC for online shopping in the last three months, by age, NI, November 2019
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- Figure 23: Consumers who have used a desktop/laptop PC for online shopping in the last three months, by age, RoI, November 2019
Items Purchased Online
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- Clothing is the top purchase online
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- Figure 24: Types of items/services bought online in the last three months, NI and RoI, November 2019
- Women more engaged in shopping online
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- Figure 25: Consumers who have bought clothing/footwear/accessories in the last three months, by gender, NI and RoI, November 2019
- Takeaway food – a growing revenue stream for online markets
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- Figure 26: Consumers who have bought takeaway food (eg Deliveroo, Just Eat) in the last three months, by age, NI and RoI, November 2019
- Figure 27: Netted frequency consumers buy takeaway and/or home delivery food, NI and RoI, September 2019
- Online grocery retailing excelling in NI but struggling in RoI
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- Figure 28: Consumers who have bought groceries online in the last three months, NI and RoI, November 2019
Online Delivery Methods
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- Home delivery is the preferred delivery method
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- Figure 29: Types of delivery used by consumers when shopping online in the last three months, NI and RoI, November 2019
- Consumers more likely to opt for home delivery
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- Figure 30: Consumers who have had an online purchase delivered to home (eg AddressPal, Amazon Prime) in the last three months, by work status, NI and RoI, November 2019
- Parents more likely to use click-and-collect
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- Figure 31: Consumers who have had an online purchase delivered via collection in-store from the retailer (eg click-and-collect), by age of children, in the last three months, by age, NI and RoI, November 2019
Personal Data and Concerns
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- Data breaches continue to concern consumers
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- Figure 32: Agreement with statements related to online and mobile retailing, NI and RoI, November 2019
- Affluent consumers more concerned with data breaches
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- Figure 33: Consumer agreement with the statement ‘I would be less inclined to shop with a company that has experienced a data breach’, by social class, NI and RoI, November 2019
- Brexit causes concern for online shopping
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- Figure 34: Consumer agreement with the statement ‘I am worried that it will be more expensive to buy goods online from UK/NI retailers (RoI consumers only) or from RoI retailers (NI consumers only) post-Brexit’, NI and RoI, November 2019
- Figure 35: Consumer agreement with the statement ‘More NI/RoI based online retailers would encourage me to shop online more often’, NI and RoI, November 2019
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- Figure 36: Main reasons for purchasing Irish products, RoI, 2019
Attitudes Towards Online Shopping
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- Free delivery is worth waiting for
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- Figure 37: Agreement with statements related to online and mobile retailing, NI and RoI, November 2019
- Older and rural consumers more willing to wait for free deliveries
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- Figure 38: Consumer agreement with the statement ‘Cheaper/free delivery charges make me willing to wait a little longer for deliveries’, by age and residence area, NI and RoI, November 2019
- Consumer happy with returns process
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- Figure 39: Consumer agreement with the statement ‘I am satisfied with the returns process of online retailers’, NI and RoI, November 2019
- Younger demographics shopping more on-the-go
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- Figure 40: Consumer agreement with the statement ‘I have shopped online while on-the-go (ie commuting) more compared to 12 months ago’, by age, NI and RoI, November 2019
- Figure 41: Consumer agreement with the statement ‘I have shopped online while on-the-go (ie commuting) more compared to 12 months ago’, NI and RoI, November 2018-19
Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
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- Data sources
- Generational cohort definitions
- Abbreviations
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