DPD unveils the UK’s fastest growing e-tail sectors

Sporting equipment, garden & DIY products, toys & games, tablet computers, mobile phones and software & games are forecast to be among the fastest growing online sectors in the next 12 months, according to new research revealed today.

The research commissioned by leading parcel company DPD, questioned online shoppers about the products they bought in the last 12 months and items they would consider buying in the next year to identify the fastest growing e-tail sectors. Sporting equipment is tipped to be the fastest area for growth, with the number of people saying that they would buy online increasing by a massive 69 per cent, followed by DIY equipment and garden & outdoor goods.

The top five products bought online in the last 12 months were books (63 per cent), clothing/footwear (61 per cent), DVDs (54 per cent), CDs (43 per cent) and beauty & healthcare products (32 per cent).

Six products in the 2012 list also appear in the fastest growing list: beauty & healthcare, kitchen & home, toys & games, electrical & photographic, garden & outdoor and software & games. These sectors present the most significant growth as they are already well established online sectors and are therefore the most likely to challenge the dominant “Big Four” of books, clothing, DVDs and CDs in the immediate future.

Commenting on the research, DPD’s CEO Dwain McDonald said, “Books, CDs, DVDs and clothing continue to dominate the online retail market. But, our research suggests that internet shoppers are increasingly prepared to buy a wider range of goods and purchase higher value items such as PCs, tablet computers, photographic equipment and mobile phones.

“As the range and value of goods bought online increases, the reliability and speed of delivery become ever more important. DPD is working hard to innovate services in this area and options like our one-hour delivery timeslot service, Predict, have given retailers a far better customer experience enabling more parcels to be delivered right first time. It also helps to give shoppers greater confidence that buying high value goods online is a straightforward and convenient way to shop.

“Online shopping has rapidly grown to become a mainstream retail channel in the UK. Over the last few years an increasing number of people have switched on to the convenience of shopping from home and, thanks to the internet it has never been easier to research and compare a wide range of products from different retailers to find the best deal.”