Virus drives online sales to record, and some of that will stick

Customers who’d previously been reluctant to shop online were forced to try it after stores and restaurants closed in March to contain the pandemic. UK online sales as a proportion of all retailing reached a record high of 33.4% in May, the Office for National Statistics said on June 19. At least some of that business will remain, potentially at the cost of physical shops that were already struggling to compete against customers who increasingly prefer to buy online. — Dreamstime/TNS

The lockdown created a boom for online retailers, with customers stuck at home demanding everything from restaurant and food delivery to fresh flowers and pre-mixed cocktails. As the UK follows other parts of the world in reopening non-essential shops, e-commerce companies are betting that the shift to the web will stick.

Customers who’d previously been reluctant to shop online were forced to try it after stores and restaurants closed in March to contain the pandemic. UK online sales as a proportion of all retailing reached a record high of 33.4% in May, the Office for National Statistics said on June 19.