In addition respondents reported their average shopping cart value increased slightly during the period from £67.30 in the fourth quarter 2009 to £68.90 in the same period in 2010.

E-tailers reported that the early snow placed extra pressures on their customer service operations as people were anxious about their orders arriving in time for Christmas.

Richard Smart, managing director, Smart Packaging, www.smartpackagingstore.co.uk reports that, “Although our customer service queries increased over 400% due to the unprecedented weather conditions, we still managed to increase our sales by 19%. We found that by working very closely with our main carriers we were able to offer a dedicated Weather Help page on the site which indicated the ‘troubled’ postcodes which then helped customers when ordering.”

Ben Biscoe, managing director of Fairyglass www.fairyglass.co.uk comments that, “While the snow caused a few problems with deliveries, it also meant that customers did not venture out to shop. As a result we had our best online sales ever this Christmas, up around 15% on last year.”

Nick Kington, managing director at Sellerdeck comments, “Despite the snow and ice, SMEs selling online have continued to report healthy increases in both the number of orders processed, and most importantly the revenues achieved in the run up to the crucial Christmas trading period. This survey highlights that more consumers have opted for the convenience of online shopping this Christmas, although businesses have had to work extra hard to overcome the customer service difficulties created by the weather conditions.

Contacts: Phil Rothwell, Sellerdeck. 0845 129 4888 (calls cost 2p per minute plus your phone company’s access charge)

Sellerdeck PR: Jane Lee, Dexterity. +44 (0)1273 470199, Sellerdeck at dexterity.co.uk

About Sellerdeck:

Founded in 1996, Sellerdeck (www.sellerdeck.co.uk) is a British company specialising in helping small and medium retailers trade, both online and offline, using its E-Commerce and electronic point of sale (EPOS) packages.

Sellerdeck offers E-Commerce products for web designers and self-builders, including both web-based and desktop solutions. The range includes Sellerdeck Enterprise, Sellerdeck Business, Sellerdeck Catalog, Sellerdeck Express and Sellerdeck Designer. Sellerdeck powers more UK E-Commerce sites than any other company.

Sellerdeck EPOS systems give a comprehensive feature set that is straightforward to operate at great value. The range extends from a low cost, single till installation for the smaller store, to integrated multi-till and multi-site systems with head office functionality for centralised product, stock and price updating and reporting.

Trademarks: Sellerdeck, Sellerdeck Catalog, Sellerdeck Business, Sellerdeck Express and Sellerdeck Designer are registered trademarks of Sellerdeck Software Limited.

In contrast, in Q2 2010 growth was running at over double this rate (15%), and with the Q1 2011 figures showing an average 9% increase, the trend is downwards. However, these latest results still compare very favourably with high street retailers where June gave only 1.5% growth, which was better than expected.

The average order value has remained virtually unchanged at £72.08 for Q2 2011 compared to £72.16 for Q2 2010. The survey does highlight that there are still e-retailers experiencing strong growth. For example, many specialist web stores in the arts and crafts sector are thriving.

“Our Sellerdeck E-Commerce site www.knitwell.co.uk has been running for over 7 years and we are still experiencing strong growth with a 13% increase in revenue and 6% increase in order quantity for our Q2 2011 figures over the same time last year,” says owner Michael Calvert.

He adds, “The knitting marketing has seen a resurgence with celebrity endorsements from the likes of Julia Roberts and Cameron Diaz, combined with more people wanting to take up a new, inexpensive, but rewarding pastime. The cold winter last year also helped, with scarves becoming fashionable again which attracted younger knitters.”

Monica Hardman, managing director of English Yarns (www.englishyarns.co.uk) comments: “In April our 2011 turnover for the year was down 23% compared with 2010. So we implemented a discount programme with coupon codes to increase traffic to our site and incentivise visitors to purchase, firstly to those in the UK and EU and then customers in the rest of the world. Within a month we were into positive figures again with an increase of 3% in May and 12% in June for the year to date.”

Nick Kington, managing director at Sellerdeck Online comments, “These figures are not a big surprise. Consumer spending is clearly being hit hard and online retailers are not immune to tough times. However, some web merchants are thriving, highlighting that a combination of good merchandising, marketing and customer service can bring success even in the current climate.”

Contact: Simon Armstrong, marketing manager, Sellerdeck, 0845 129 4888 (calls cost 2p per minute plus your phone company’s access charge)

About Sellerdeck Online:

Sellerdeck Online (www.sellerdeck.co.uk) provides web-based E-Commerce and shopping cart software solutions for start-ups and SMEs. Sellerdeck Online products are supplied, supported and maintained through an alliance between Sellerdeck, the best-selling UK E-Commerce provider and Oxatis, the market leader in E-Commerce solutions in France. All products combine flexibility, affordability and ease of use with the functionality needed to build and manage a successful online business and are used by many thousands of companies to power their E-Commerce stores.

In contrast, in Q2 2010 growth was running at over double this rate (15%), and with the Q1 2011 figures showing an average 9% increase, the trend is downwards. However, these latest results still compare very favourably with high street retailers where June gave only 1.5% growth, which was better than expected.

The average order value has remained virtually unchanged at £72.08 for Q2 2011 compared to £72.16 for Q2 2010. The survey does highlight that there are still e-retailers experiencing strong growth. For example, many specialist web stores in the arts and crafts sector are thriving.

“Our Sellerdeck E-Commerce site www.knitwell.co.uk has been running for over 7 years and we are still experiencing strong growth with a 13% increase in revenue and 6% increase in order quantity for our Q2 2011 figures over the same time last year,” says owner Michael Calvert.

He adds, “The knitting marketing has seen a resurgence with celebrity endorsements from the likes of Julia Roberts and Cameron Diaz, combined with more people wanting to take up a new, inexpensive, but rewarding pastime. The cold winter last year also helped, with scarves becoming fashionable again which attracted younger knitters.”

Monica Hardman, managing director of English Yarns (www.englishyarns.co.uk) comments: “In April our 2011 turnover for the year was down 23% compared with 2010. So we implemented a discount programme with coupon codes to increase traffic to our site and incentivise visitors to purchase, firstly to those in the UK and EU and then customers in the rest of the world. Within a month we were into positive figures again with an increase of 3% in May and 12% in June for the year to date.”

Nick Kington, managing director at Sellerdeck Online comments, “These figures are not a big surprise. Consumer spending is clearly being hit hard and online retailers are not immune to tough times. However, some web merchants are thriving, highlighting that a combination of good merchandising, marketing and customer service can bring success even in the current climate.”

Contact: Simon Armstrong, marketing manager, Sellerdeck, 0845 129 4888 (calls cost 2p per minute plus your phone company’s access charge)

About Sellerdeck Online:

Sellerdeck Online (www.sellerdeck.co.uk) provides web-based E-Commerce and shopping cart software solutions for start-ups and SMEs. Sellerdeck Online products are supplied, supported and maintained through an alliance between Sellerdeck, the best-selling UK E-Commerce provider and Oxatis, the market leader in E-Commerce solutions in France. All products combine flexibility, affordability and ease of use with the functionality needed to build and manage a successful online business and are used by many thousands of companies to power their E-Commerce stores.

UK will lead E-Commerce sales in Europe for next five years says Forrester. Despite the challenging economy, European online retail sales grew 18% in 2010, and will grow 13% in 2011, reaching €92bn, according to new five year forecast from Forrester Research. Growth drivers include new online buyers–57% of adults now shop online–and higher spend per capita. Across Europe 10% year-on-year compound growth can be expected to continue for the next five years. Read the full article here.

UK will lead E-Commerce sales in Europe for next five years says Forrester. Despite the challenging economy, European online retail sales grew 18% in 2010, and will grow 13% in 2011, reaching €92bn, according to new five year forecast from Forrester Research. Growth drivers include new online buyers–57% of adults now shop online–and higher spend per capita. Across Europe 10% year-on-year compound growth can be expected to continue for the next five years. Read the full article here.