Online spending grows 1.6% in the UK

In June and July, consumers in the United Kingdom spent a total of 21.5 billion euros (18.6 billion British pounds) online. This is a year-on-year growth of 1.6 percent when compared to the same period last year. It is the first growth in seventeen months.

These data come from the newest Adobe Digital Economy Index. The growth in the last two months is the first year-on-year spending increase in ecommerce in the United Kingdom since January 2022.

€10.2 billion spent online in June

In June, consumers in the United Kingdom spent 10.2 billion euros (8.85 British pounds), which was an increase of 13.8 percent compared to May. Compared to June 2022, it was an increase of 1 percent. In July, consumers in the country spent 11.3 billion euros (9.75 British pounds) online. This was an increase of 2.2 percent compared to a year earlier.

‘Online price inflation is showing signs of slowing, encouraging spending.’

“With year-on-year spending up for the first time in over a year, consumers look to be taking advantage of mid-year discounts and shopping events like Amazon Prime Day”, said Vivek Pandya, Lead Analyst at Adobe Digital Insights. “Online price inflation for essential items is showing signs of slowing and prices for non-essential items like technology, toys and apparel are lower than they were this time last year, encouraging spend across these categories.”

Online prices of goods decreased 3.2%

According to the research, the online prices of goods decreased 3.2 percent year-on-year across all categories in July. Prices of essential items, like groceries and pet products, are still increasing but at a slower pace than earlier in the year.

BNPL 15.35% of monthly online spending

The increase in online spending seems to be fueled by Buy Now Pay Later, as shoppers spent 1.7 billion euros through these services in July. It accounts for 15.35 percent of the total monthly online spend.

‘Consumers are becoming comfortable using BNPL services to take advantage of deals.’

“Buy Now Pay Later usage has increased in the first half of this year, being used to finance more than 1 British pounds in every 7 British pounds spent online,” said Vivek Pandya, Lead Analyst at Adobe Digital Insights. “Consumers are becoming increasingly comfortable using buy now pay later services as a way to take advantage of deals without taking an immediate hit to their household budgets.”