Ecommerce websites in Ireland see revenue grow 45%

Ecommerce websites in Ireland welcomed a third consecutive year of revenue growth in 2017. Last year, the total online revenue of these companies increased by 45 percent year-on-year. Increased employment, improved broadband and browsing experiences have led to this growth.

That’s what Wolfgang Digital said in its Online Economy 2018 report. “The Irish digital landscape has never looked so promising”, the agency concluded. “Domestic consumer spending has generally been on the up in recent years thanks largely to rising employment levels. This, combined with increased consumer trust online and improved digital experiences is encouraging consumers to migrate from bricks to clicks.”

In 2017, traffic to Irish ecommerce websites increased 14 percent year-on-year, while the number of transactions increased by 32 percent during the same period. “This is significant as it demonstrates Irish consumers are not only browsing more online, but they are converting more frequently too.”

51% of traffic comes from mobile

The study also shows that mobile is gaining more and more market share of Irish web traffic, with 51 percent coming from this device last year. But when it comes to which devices generate the most revenue, it’s still the good old desktop and laptop that dominate, with 58 percent. But mobile is closing in and accounted for 30 percent of the overall share. The remaining 12 percent is generated by tablet users.

Wolfgang Digital also noticed that in 2017, international transactions accounted for 24 percent of all revenue generated by Irish retailers, which is a 1 percent drop from 2016. The digital marketing agency isn’t very positive about how Ireland’s ecommerce is doing abroad. “Our international opportunity beyond the UK is huge and far outweighs the potential losses posed by Brexit, but only for those willing to adapt. Despite the potential, our study shows practically no change in Irish businesses shifting their income to international markets between 2016 and 2017.”

‘Growth in Irish ecommerce is achievable’

But it wants to stay optimistic, although comparing the situation of ecommerce in Ireland with the UK ecommerce doesn’t seem so far. “The United Kingdom is widely considered to be one of the world’s most successful digital economies and the UK’s success should be a benchmark for the Irish economy”, Wolfgang Digital writes. “The British digital economy contributes an estimated 12.4% towards GDP, over double that of Ireland’s online economy. This gap makes evident the potential for growth within the Irish ecommerce space, growth which the Irish digital economy’s previous form suggests is achievable.”