Table of Contents
Overview
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- What you need to know
- Issues covered in this Report
Executive Summary
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- The market
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- Figure 1: Estimated online and mobile retail expenditure, IoI, NI, and RoI, 2014-19
- Forecast
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- Figure 2: Index online and mobile retail expenditure, NI and RoI, 2019-24
- Market factors
- Eight in 10 NI consumers shop online
- Consumers worried they will not be able to online shop post-Brexit
- 5G rollout set for 2019 as the National Broadband Plan gets hit with another delay
- Irish smartphone users on the rise
- Companies and innovations
- The consumer
- PC purchases witness a drop as more use smartphones for online shopping
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- Figure 3: Usage of devices to shop online in the last three months, NI and RoI, December 2018
- A quarter of Irish have returned an online purchase
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- Figure 4: Returned items bought online, NI and RoI, December 2018
- Clothes are the top purchases made online
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- Figure 5: Types of items/services bought online in the last 12 months, NI and RoI, December 2018
- Home is preferred delivery destination
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- Figure 6: Types of delivery used by consumers when shopping online in the last three months, NI and RoI, December 2018
- Four in 10 willing to pay more for guaranteed next-day delivery
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- Figure 7: Delivery services consumers would be willing to pay more for, NI and RoI, December 2018
- Free delivery is worth the wait
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- Figure 8: Agreement with statements related to online and mobile retailing, NI and RoI, December 2018
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Strong growth forecast for Irish online retailing
- IoI online purchases remain strong in 2018
- Brexit concerns online shoppers
- National Broadband Plan faces delays while 5G gets the green light
- Smartphone ownership on the rise
Market Sizes and Forecast
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- 2019 set to witness almost 14% in online expenditure
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- Figure 9: Estimated online and mobile retail expenditure, IoI, NI, and RoI, 2014-24
- Figure 10: Index online and mobile retail expenditure, NI and RoI, 2014-24
- Debit cards used more for eCommerce
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- Figure 11: eCommerce market segmentation, by card type, RoI, 2018
- Figure 12: eCommerce market segmentation, by card type, UK including NI, 2016
Market Drivers
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- UK (including NI) leads the pack with online purchases
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- Figure 13: Online purchases in selected European markets, 2018
- Brexit causes concern for EU shopping
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- Figure 14: Consumer agreement with the statement ‘I am worried that I won’t be able to buy goods online from RoI/EU (NI respondents) or from UK/NI (RoI respondents) retailers post-Brexit, NI and RoI, December 2018
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- Figure 15: Agreement with the statement ‘Do you think that the general economic condition of Northern Ireland/Ireland will improve, stay the same or decline over the next 12 months?’, NI and RoI, December 2018
- Broadband in RoI delayed despite uptake increasing
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- Figure 16: Internet take-up, NI, 2011-17
- Figure 17: Household broadband penetration (fixed and mobile), RoI, 2011-17
- 5G set to roll out in NI and RoI in 2019
- Device ownership remains strong in Ireland
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- Figure 18: Ownership of technology devices, NI and RoI, 2016-18
- 2018 saw new EU data protection laws
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- Figure 19: How well Irish consumers think the General Data Protection Regulation will protect their personal data, NI and RoI, June 2018
Companies and Brands – What You Need To Know
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- Augmented Reality technology integrating further into retail
- Investing in mobile and online capabilities is important for Irish retail
- Pop-up stores popular with online Irish fashion retailers
Who’s Innovating?
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- Argos launching Augmented Reality app
- ASOS launches on Google Assistant
- Online fashion retailers increasingly opting for physical presence
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- Figure 20: Top five reasons why Irish consumers returned clothes bought from online outlets in the last 12 months, NI and RoI, August 2015
- SMEs in Ireland lag behind larger competitors online
Companies and Brands
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- Pure-play retailers
- Amazon
- Key facts
- Recent developments
- ASOS
- Key facts
- Recent developments
- eBay
- Key facts
- Recent developments
- Shop Direct Group
- Key facts
- Recent developments
- Multi-channel retailers
- Arnott’s
- Key facts
- Recent developments
- Dunnes
- Key facts
- Recent developments
- Harvey Norman
- Key facts
- Recent developments
- Next
- Key facts
- Recent developments
- J Sainsbury/Argos
- Key facts
- Recent developments
- Tesco
- Key facts
- Recent developments
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Preference towards smartphones see computer usage drop
- Online shopping habits point to clothes being the top purchase
- Home delivery used most in Ireland
- Irish consumers willing to pay for guaranteed next-day delivery
- Data breaches concern Irish consumers
Devices Used to Shop Online and Returns
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- Smartphone usage strong both in-home and out of home
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- Figure 21: Usage of devices to shop online in the last three months, NI and RoI, December 2018
- NI see smartphones used more than PC at-home
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- Figure 22: Consumers who have shopped online at-home and out of home (eg at work or a café) in the last three months, by device, NI and RoI, December 2018
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- Figure 23: Devices used at-home to shop online in the last 12 months, NI and RoI, November 2017
- Computers preferred by mature consumers
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- Figure 24: Consumers who have used a desktop/laptop computer to shop online at home in the last three months, by age, NI and RoI, December 2018
- Majority have not returned an item bought online
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- Figure 25: Returned items bought online, NI and RoI, December 2018
- Figure 26: Returned items bought online, by gender, NI and RoI, December 2018
Items Purchased Online
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- Clothes are the top purchase online
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- Figure 27: Types of items/services bought online in the last 12 months, NI and RoI, December 2018
- Women more inclined to purchase clothes online
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- Figure 28: Consumers who have bought Beauty/personal care items and Clothing/footwear/accessories in the last 12 months, by gender, NI and RoI, December 2018
- Millennials strong users of takeout apps
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- Figure 29: Consumers who have made an online purchase from a takeaway food website/app (eg Just Eat) in the last 12 months, by gender and age, NI and RoI, December 2018
- Books and DVD purchases online witness a decrease
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- Figure 30: Consumers who have bought Books/CDs/DVDs/video games (physical copies) online in the last 12 months, NI and RoI, 2018-19
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- Figure 31: Agreement with behaviour statements relating to streaming media, NI and RoI, June 2018
Delivery Methods Used
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- Home delivery is the top delivery method used
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- Figure 32: Types of delivery used by consumers when shopping online in the last three months, NI and RoI, December 2018
- Workers more likely to click-and-collect
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- Figure 33: Consumers who have collected an online purchase in-store from the retailer I bought from (eg click-and-collect) in the last three months, by work status, NI and RoI, December 2018
Interest in Delivery Innovations
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- Guaranteed next-day delivery worth paying for
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- Figure 34: Delivery services consumers would be willing to pay more for, NI and RoI, December 2018
- Younger consumers most interested in same-day delivery
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- Figure 35: Consumers who would be willing to pay more for same-day delivery, by age, NI and RoI, December 2018
- Retailers innovate within the same-day delivery space
- Live updates appeal to younger consumers
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- Figure 36: Consumers who would be willing to pay more for live updates to their phone/email, by age, NI and RoI, December 2018
Attitudes towards Online and Mobile Retailing
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- Longer wait times is a good trade-off for free delivery
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- Figure 37: Agreement with statements related to online and mobile retailing, NI and RoI, December 2018
- Data breach concerns mature consumers
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- Figure 38: Agreement with the statement ‘I would be less inclined to shop with a company that has experienced a data breach’, by age, NI and RoI, December 2018
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- Figure 39: Agreement with the statement ‘I am concerned about the amount of data that retailers collect’, by social class, NI and RoI, December 2018
- Christmas offers an opportunity to shop online for parents
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- Figure 40: Agreement with the statement ‘I intend to buy more of my Christmas gifts online this year compared to last year’, by presence of children in the household, NI and RoI, December 2018
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- Figure 41: Types of channels used to buy gifts for Christmas 2017, NI and RoI, January 2018
- Consumers want more Irish retailers online
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- Figure 42: Agreement with the statement ‘More NI/RoI based online retailers would encourage me to shop online more often’ and ‘I am worried that I won’t be able to buy goods online from RoI/EU UK/NI retailers post-Brexit’, NI and RoI, December 2018
Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations, and Supporting Information
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- Data sources
- Generational cohort definitions
- Abbreviations
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