UK's online spending holds strong despite slight dip in August: Adobe

Despite a slow beginning to the year, online spending has shown resilience, closely tracking levels from 2022 since May. The August figures suggest a return to consumer confidence and spending power, as spending remained above the £9 billion mark, as per Adobe.

Online inflation rates also caught attention, falling by 6.2 per cent compared to August 2022. This marks the most substantial year-over-year decline in online inflation since March 2022. Prices in August were also 0.7 per cent lower than in July 2023, mainly driven by significant price drops in non-essential goods.

Across all categories, online prices decreased by 0.7 per cent month-on-month and 6.2 per cent year-on-year. Apparel prices fell by 4.44 per cent, and sporting goods witnessed a significant 13.6 per cent drop in prices compared to last year.

Parents opted for last-minute online shopping for school uniforms, leading to a 48 per cent spike in sales in the final week of August and a staggering 76 per cent increase in the first week of September compared to the same period last year.

“Our data shows an acceleration in ecommerce spending in June, July and August after a slow start to the year,” said Suzanne Steele, VP and MD for UK and Ireland at Adobe. “UK households have faced many pressures on their finances over the past twelve-months, and while today’s figures reveal online prices coming down in many areas, the increasing use of buy now pay later services compared with 2022 shows that more consumers are supporting their spending with short-term interest-free debt.”

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP)