Matt Johnson: Every rain cloud has a silver lining for online traders

Aug 22 2007 by Matt Johnson, Liverpool Daily Post

AFTER a summer of widespread flooding in the UK, fierce forest fires in the Mediterranean and now Hurricane Dean wreaking deadly havoc in the Caribbean, it’s fair to say we’re still interested in the weather, and the impact it can have on our businesses.

Dramatic events like these regularly carry a human toll as well as the bill for physical repairs. It all adds up to cost for business. Insurers would probably consider themselves at the front of any queue comprising businesses in which the weather is important.

In normal conditions – that is without floods, fires, hurricanes or famines – many other businesses see their performance rising or falling with the barometer.

A publican I know in the south west of England allows himself a wry smile every time the weather forecast predicts a wet spell. Beaches are more appealing than pubs on hot sunny days. When the skies darken and the rain falls, his pub does far better trade.

Yesterday, the weather was cited in a significant report published by the Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG).

According to them, July’s wet weather drove online shopping to record levels.

In its simplest terms, their report says people in their thousands opted to stay indoors during the wet spell, apparently idling away their time internet shopping as the rain trickled down their windows.

Consumers, it seems, surfed the net instead of the waves as our record-breaking summer unfolded.

And the ease and convenience of internet shopping came into its own for shoppers less keen on sloshing their way along the High Street.

Internet sales rose to £4.2bn in July, up from £2.34bn in the same month a year ago, according to the IMRG.

Sales are also picking up as retailers improve websites, and as consumers get faster internet connections, claim the researchers.

Not much evidence there that market freefalls and interest rate rises are curbing retail hunger.

IMRG said that the fastest- growing sector of online sales was electrical goods, which almost doubled from a year earlier. According to the same report, sales of clothing and accessories increased by nearly 60%.

Like the Met Office statistics from our summer, these are pretty significant numbers which demonstrate the growing appeal of the internet.

Online commerce is here to stay. Come rain or shine.

MATT JOHNSON is chairman of Mando Group