The research from ecommerce data experts PCA Predict, analysed 10 key moments in the Brexit timeline for levels of online shopping among British consumers.
From 2016-2017, UK consumers, on a daily average, made 3,923,336 purchases online, according to PCA Predict. However, when this average is compared against key dates related to Brexit, consumers consistently held back on making purchases on these dates.
PCA Predict found that:
- Brexit’s Effect On Shopping:
- The recent (i) General Election (08/06/17) saw the lowest level of online purchases, just 1,579,670 - a drop of 59 per cent against the daily average
- This was followed by:
- (ii) The day referendum results were announced (24/06/17) - 1,642,100 purchases were made in the UK - a drop of 58 per cent against the daily average
- (iii) EU’s European Affairs ministers approve the European Commission’s negotiating proposals, giving Michel Barnier a mandate to start the process (22/05/17) - 1,673,510 purchases were made - a drop of 57 per cent against the daily average
- (iv) The day Article 50 was triggered (29/03/17) - 1,688,450 purchases were made - a drop of 56 per cent against the daily average
- (v) The government introduces a 137-word bill in Parliament to win the right to trigger Brexit (26/01/17) - 1,784,710 purchases were made- a drop of 54 per cent against the daily average
The day the Supreme Court convened to decide whether Parliament or the Prime Minister had the power to invoke Article 50 (05/12/16), saw the highest level of shopping online in the UK. Over 3,581,000 purchases were made by British consumers, far above other Brexit-related dates, however, this also coincided with the run up to Christmas when online purchases are normally significantly higher.
Chris Boaz, Head of Marketing, of PCA Predict said: “Currently British consumers spend more than any other shoppers in Europe, accounting for nearly one third of all online purchases. Yet as our data shows, Brexit has seemingly shook consumers’ confidence.”
“This has serious implications for online retailers and shows how hard they now need to work to not only gain, but also retain customers. If a consumer can’t easily purchase something online, via the checkout, then a retailer is in trouble.”
“Retailers can simplify this checkout experience by using smart address verification technology to ensure a parcel arrives to the correct address. Such technology speeds up the checkout process by minimising the amount of manual typing needed while ensuring the data entered is valid. This is crucial as in a separate piece of research we found that nearly half of consumers told us they would abandon purchases if the checkout process is too long.”
