Debenhams Online Sales Surge 46% To £366 Million

Department store Debenhams said its online sales have soared 46.2 per cent in the past year to £366.3 million.

The company said online sales in the year to August were 13.2 per cent of the group's £2.7 billion sales. The number of visitors to Debenhams.com increased 36 per cent to 241 million and mobile visits increased 200 per cent and now account for a quarter of sales.

Debenhams said profit at the business as a whole fell 2.7 per cent to £154 million in a competitive market. But the chain said it managed to increase market share in the period and group like-for-like sales over the year increased 2 per cent. 

'We are working hard to ensure our UK stores adapt to the challenge of their changing role in a multichannel world,' said chief executive Michael Sharp.

'More widely, whilst consumer confidence may be showing signs of improvement, we expect that household incomes will remain under pressure from inflation growing ahead of wages. With this in mind, we remain cautious about the strength and pace of any consumer recovery in 2014 and expect the marketplace to remain highly competitive,' he said.

Debenhams, which has 156 UK stores, said its online service now operates in 67 countries.