UK bricks and mortar retailers appear to be holding there own against the rising tide when compared to large US rivals, whose innovation and ideas our retailers have previously long followed rather than led.
But here, for once, the UK has led the global market place. The evidence comes from a report in the Wall Street Journal which says the US market watchdog the SEC has called on major firms to justify claims about their internet businesses.
The article itself makes for fascinating reading but we'll be bringing the focus back to the UK lower down by comparing the findings to our own data on some of the largest UK retail businesses.
The first fact to crunch, the Journal says, comes from the US magazine Internet Retailer which has calculated Amazon’s sales are greater than the online sales of its next twelve retail rivals combined. That includes Wal-Mart, Dell, Apple, Sears, Best Buy and Staples.
We're pretty sure that could not be said about UK retailers - but more on that below.
Further examination of the situation reveals that most of the US firms in question appear to be failing to keep pace with online growth relative to total sales. The US Commerce Department says online accounted for 5.8 per cent of retail sales in the three months to June.
That compares to 5.1 per cent a year earlier. Few of the bigger retailers would be able to boast such relative online scale in their own businesses, from what we have discovered.
The Journal says that American retail giants have been asked to justify boasts about their online prowess by the country's stock market watchdog - but many have fallen far short of living up to their claims.
The demand from the US Securities and Exchange Commission comes amid suspicions that some of America's largest retailers have exaggerated their internet selling performance to impress investors.
Wal-Mart casually revealed in June - having been contacted by the SEC - that it expects global online sales this year to reach $10 billion. Based on last year's group sales, that is just 0.021 per cent of total sales, our own calculations show.
One of the cases that surprised us a little was Target, which we have always thought of as one of the more innovative of the online giants.
Last month it reported that its online sales had grown by double digit percentages - a familiar vague expression to anyone that has listened in to any US investor calls. It added that it is 'moving quickly to ensure we stay relevant in an increasingly digital marketplace.'
But it said in June, again, following contact with the SEC, that 'digital sales represented an immaterial amount of total sales'.
The graph below is originally from Internet Retailer data and the original of which can be found on the Wall Street Journal's web site here:
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US retailers, it seems, prefer to stick to those percentage figures which make the picture much more rosy. Gap recently said its online sales increased by 20 per cent and footlocker said their growth was 27 per cent.
In the UK, the most recent data we have is that Amazon's sales are about $8 billion split roughly half and half between its own sales and its Marketplace sales.
So how do UK retailers measure up? Here's our back of the fag packet analysis. Argos is the biggest online retailer after Amazon, we think - and we're excluding Ebay. Argos has multichannel sales of about half its total sales at £2 billion. We estimate Shop Direct's online sales are about £1.2 billion but closer to £1.6 if we include its catalogues.
Next is not far off £1.1 billion, through its catalogue and online business, and John Lewis' online sales are about £800 million.
That's roughly £5.5 billion before we've even started on Currys and PC World (together owned by Dixons Retail and accounting for an estimated £1 billion - roughly a quarter of total UK sales) M&S (at around £650 million) Tesco Direct (we still think is only at around £500 million).
That's eight retailers (even counting PC World and Currys separately) and we're pretty much there. And we're not counting Tesco's massive food delivery business that would easily add on another £3 billion or so. Not to mention Ocado, Sainsbury's and Asda which togtether would add a similar amount.
We have obviously cut some corners here (for example, Next's online and catalogue sales are difficult to separate but like Argos are probably 'multichannel' with one relying heavily on the other). But the picture is far more impressive.
The overall picture is even rosier. Online sales account for more than 10 per cent of total retail sales according to the Office of National Statistics - around double the rate of the US - where the geographies involved might leave you thinking online shopping would be a far more attractive opportunity.
In fact, many retailers are emerging to say their online sales are blooming. We're prepared to take this with a pinch of salt because they will include the fast growing click and collect channels and even, we suspect, click and reserve where the transaction doesn't even take place until the shopper reaches the store.
But fashion retailer New Look says online sales account for 7.5 per cent and rising fast - not bad for a clothing-only retailer that has only just grasped the online nettle.
House of Fraser says online sales accounted for 11 per cent of group rising to about 20 per cent in womenswear, adding that about a third of their internet sales come from e-commerce.
Debenhams has just reached its year end but we estimated back in April ('Cracking Online Fashion's Middle Market') that it would achieve online sales of £350 million this year, about 13 per cent from 1.1 per cent five years ago.
Next, frankly, leaves everyone else in the dust with its multi-channel approach and John Lewis is a comfortable second among the major retailers.
What we find interesting about this is how far advanced the UK market is than the US on so many levels. We suspect the big supermarkets seriously lag in terms of non-food but they are well ahead in food delivery (even though this is a more decisive issue where we think margins and benefits are more questionable).
And with Amazon saying second quarter group sales are rising 30 per cent, we wonder if US retailers are even keeping pace with developments as they are in the UK.
The proof is in this article.
In the UK, the most recent data we have is that Amazon's sales are about $8 billion split roughly half and half between its own sales and its Marketplace sales.
So how do UK retailers measure up? Here's our back of the fag packet analysis. Argos is the biggest online retailer after Amazon, we think - and we're excluding Ebay. Argos has multichannel sales of about half its total sales at £2 billion. We estimate Shop Direct's online sales are about £1.2 billion but closer to £1.6 if we include its catalogues.
Next is not far off £1.1 billion, through its catalogue and online business, and John Lewis' online sales are about £800 million.
That's roughly £5.5 billion before we've even started on Currys and PC World (together owned by Dixons Retail and accounting for an estimated £1 billion - roughly a quarter of total UK sales) M&S (at around £650 million) Tesco Direct (we still think is only at around £500 million).
That's eight retailers (even counting PC World and Currys separately) and we're pretty much there. And we're not counting Tesco's massive food delivery business that would easily add on another £3 billion or so. Not to mention Ocado, Sainsbury's and Asda which togtether would add a similar amount.
We have obviously cut some corners here (for example, Next's online and catalogue sales are difficult to separate but like Argos are probably 'multichannel' with one relying heavily on the other). But the picture is far more impressive.
The overall picture is even rosier. Online sales account for more than 10 per cent of total retail sales according to the Office of National Statistics - around double the rate of the US - where the geographies involved might leave you thinking online shopping would be a far more attractive opportunity.
In fact, many retailers are emerging to say their online sales are blooming. We're prepared to take this with a pinch of salt because they will include the fast growing click and collect channels and even, we suspect, click and reserve where the transaction doesn't even take place until the shopper reaches the store.
But fashion retailer New Look says online sales account for 7.5 per cent and rising fast - not bad for a clothing-only retailer that has only just grasped the online nettle.
House of Fraser says online sales accounted for 11 per cent of group rising to about 20 per cent in womenswear, adding that about a third of their internet sales come from e-commerce.
Debenhams has just reached its year end but we estimated back in April ('Cracking Online Fashion's Middle Market') that it would achieve online sales of £350 million this year, about 13 per cent from 1.1 per cent five years ago.
Next, frankly, leaves everyone else in the dust with its multi-channel approach and John Lewis is a comfortable second among the major retailers.
What we find interesting about this is how far advanced the UK market is than the US on so many levels. We suspect the big supermarkets seriously lag in terms of non-food but they are well ahead in food delivery (even though this is a more decisive issue where we think margins and benefits are more questionable).
And with Amazon saying second quarter group sales are rising 30 per cent, we wonder if US retailers are even keeping pace with developments as they are in the UK.
The proof is in this article.
We still think US retailers and UK plc's big opportunity is a global one. Not only for retail but to build our experiences and skills into a global industry. There is a window of opportunity here: we wonder which retailers will seize it and whether then country can follow suit.
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