www.imrg.org
IMRG Capgemini
Quarterly Benchmarking Summary November 2012 to January 2013 (Q4)
What is the Quarterly Benchmarking? The Quarterly Benchmarking is an additional reporting tool that is open to all participants in the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index. It tracks over 40 key performance indicators across 7 categories, leading to unique insights into the performance of the UK e-retail sector.
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Table of Contents
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 3
Summary & Highlights .......................................................................................... 4
Quarterly Benchmarking Statistics .................................................................... 6
Commercial ............................................................................................................... 7
Website Performance ............................................................................................ 8
Customer Acquisition & Retention ................................................................... 9
Order Fulfilment .................................................................................................... 10
Marketing Performance ...................................................................................... 11
Geographical Split ................................................................................................ 12
Channel .................................................................................................................... 13
About the IMRG Capgemini Quarterly Benchmarking ............................. 14
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Introduction
The IMRG Capgemini Quarterly Benchmarking tracks over 40 key performance indicators across 7
categories, leading to unique insights into the performance of the UK e-retail sector. The
categories are:
• Website Performance
• Customer Acquisition & Retention
• Commercial
• Order Fulfilment
• Geographical Split
• Marketing Performance
• Channel
This document contains a brief overview of the findings from the Quarterly Benchmarking. Only
participants in this initiative receive the full report with all of the key performance indicators
outlined in the ‘About the IMRG Capgemini Quarterly Benchmarking’ section on page 14.
Over 30 retailers currently participate in the IMRG Capgemini Quarterly Benchmarking, including
Addict, Airport Parking & Hotels, B&Q, Bank, Cartridge People, Clarks, Co-operative Travel, Crocus,
Debenhams, Dune, Dunelm Mill, Freeman Grattan Holdings (Freemans, Grattan, Look Again,
Kaleidoscope, Curvissa, Swimear365, Witt International UK), Home & Cook, JD Sports, John Lewis,
M and M Direct, Marks & Spencer, Matalan, New Look, Philip Kingsley, Purely Gadgets, Schuh,
Scott, Shop Direct Group, Size, Sparkling Strawberry, Super GA, The White Company, This is Pulp
and Wilkinson.
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Highlights
- The average checkout abandonment rate rose to 36% in Q4, which is the highest rate since Q1
2010.
- Basket abandonment rate dropped slightly to an average of 58% in Q4 from 60% in the third quarter, in line with the previous trend recorded between Q3 and Q4.
- Mobile commerce accounted for 15.4% of e-retail sales in Q4, up from 13.2% in the previous quarter.
- Visits via mobile devices remained unchanged from the previous quarter, accounting for 24% of all e-retail visits.
- Average percentage of orders cancelled due to fraud rose to 3.3%, following the lowest recorded rate of 1.7% in Q3.
- Visitor bounce rate declined for the second consecutive quarter to an average of 26% in Q4.
- Average return on investment (per pound spent) on PPC marketing reached a record low of £6.09 in Q4.
- Affiliate marketing average ROI rose to £12.72 in Q4, up from £10.30 in Q3, which was the lowest recorded to date.
Summary
- Checkout Abandonment The average checkout abandonment rate rose 8% between Q3 and Q4, reaching 36%, which is
the highest rate recorded since the first quarter of 2010. This follows the lowest recorded
average rate in Q3 2012 of 28%. However, checkout abandonment rates were down overall in
2012 to 32%, compared with an average of 33% in 2011 and 34% in 2010.
- Basket Abandonment This dropped to 58% in the fourth quarter, from 60% in Q3. This is line with the trend recorded
in 2010 and 2011 when the average basket abandonment rates dropped between Q3 and Q4.
The overall average basket abandonment rate in 2012 was 58%, down 60% from 2011 and
61% in 2010,
- Percentage of Visits via Mobile The percentage of e-retail website visits via mobile devices (including tablets) recorded
minimal growth of just 0.4% in the fourth quarter compared with Q3, accounting for 24% of all
e-retail visits. This compares with 23.6% in the previous quarter. During 2012 visits from
mobile devices accounted for 21.3% of all e-retail visits, up from 8.2% in 2011 and just 2.6% in
2010.
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- Percentage of Sales via Mobile Devices
Mobile commerce accounted for 15.4% of e-retail sales in Q4, up from 13.2% in Q3. During Q4
2011 mobile commerce accounted for 5.3% of e-retail sales and, therefore, the mobile
penetration rate has tripled year-on-year. During 2012 mobile commerce accounted for 12% of
e-retail sales, up from 4% in 2011 and 0.9% in 2010.
- Percentage of Orders Cancelled Due to Fraud The average percentage of orders cancelled due to fraud rose to 3.3% in Q4, following a record
low of 1.7% in the third quarter. The average rate recorded has fallen from 3% in 2010 to an
average of 2.4% during 2012.
- Pence Per Click Marketing average ROI The average return on investment (per pound spent) on PPC marketing reached a record low
of £6.09 in Q4, down from £6.56 in Q3. The average ROI has fallen from £7.20 in 2010 and 2011
to £6.84 in 2012.
- Affiliate Marketing average ROI The average return on investment (per pound spent) on affiliate marketing during Q4 reached
£12.72. During 2012 the average ROI recorded fell to £11.95, from £12.36 in 2011 and £12.88 in
2010.
- Percentage of Units Returned The percentage of units returned reached a record-high of 17% in Q4, compared with 11.5% in
the previous quarter and 13.8% in the same quarter last year. The average returns rate
recorded in 2010 was 14.6%. This dropped to 14.5% in 2011 and 13% during 2012.
- Average Visitor Bounce Rate The average visitor bounce rate dropped slightly to 25.6% in Q4, from 26.9% in the previous
quarter. The overall average visitor bounce rate recorded in 2012 was 27%, up from 23.7% in
2011 and 21.7% in 2010.
Tina Spooner, Chief Information Officer at IMRG, said: “2012 is regarded by many as the year
mobile truly arrived and these figures certainly justify that claim. The IMRG Capgemini Quarterly
Benchmarking has shown sales via mobile devices have tripled in the space of a year, which is a
trend supported by our separate m-Retail Index, where average growth in 2012 was 304%. While
we are starting to see a levelling off in the growth of both sales and visits, 1 in 8 sales and 1 in 5
visits were through mobile devices in 2012 and conversion rates continue to rise.
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10.8%
The average % of
gross revenue
generated from
email marketing in
Q4
12%
e-Retail sales via
mobile devices (inc
tablets) in 2012
8.9%
The average % of orders generated from
affiliate marketing in 2012
3.3%
The percentage of orders cancelled
due to fraud in Q4
25.6%
The average visitor
bounce rate in Q4
24%
The average percentage of visits to UK e-retail sites via
mobile devices (including tablets) during Q4
£6.09
The average ROI per pound spent on PPC
marketing in Q4
27%
The average active
customer retention
rate recorded in 2012
22.7%
The average %
of gross
revenue
generated from
paid marketing
in Q4
17%
The percentage of
units returned in Q4
Quarterly Benchmarking Statistics
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Commercial
Average Selling Price Per Item (Definition – Total value of gross sales (in £s) in quarter divided by the total
number of individual items sold in the quarter (excluding travel retailers)
The average selling price per item rose to £31.39 in Q4, compared with
£30.52 in the previous quarter, but was down 5% from the same quarter
last year, when the average was £32.87. The overall average selling price
per item recorded in 2012 remained unchanged from 2011 at £33. During
2010 the average was £31.
£33
The average
selling price
per item
recorded in
2012
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Website Performance
Visitor Bounce Rate (Definition – Percentage of visitors who enter the site and leave
the site rather than continue viewing other pages within the same
site - single page visitors, irrespective of which page (not unique)
The average visitor bounce rate recorded by UK e-retailers reached
25.6% in Q4, down from 26.9% in the previous quarter. This is 1.8%
higher than the average visitor bounce rate of 23.8% recorded in
Q4 last year. Throughout the past three years the average visitor
bounce rate has risen steadily, from 21.7% in 2010, to 23.7% in
2011 and 27.1% in 2012.
25.6%
The average visitor
bounce rate for UK e-
retailers in Q4
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Customer Acquisition & Retention
Active Customer Retention Rate (Definition – Number of customers who have transacted one or more times in both the last 12 months and the previous 12 months, divided by the total number of customers who have transacted in the previous 12 months)
The average active customer retention rate recovered from the
sharp drop recorded in Q3 to 20.3%, with the average rate
reaching 28.8% in the fourth quarter. The Q4 performance is
down slightly from the same quarter last year when the average
rate recorded was 29.5%.
The average rate recorded in 2010 was 21.4%, rising to 27.3% in
2011, with the average active customer retention rate in 2012
reaching 26.9%.
28.8%
The average
online active
customer
retention rate
in the UK
during Q4
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Order Fulfilment
Percentage of Units Returned
(Definition – Number of units returned processed as a percentage of total units sold within the quarter)
The average rate of units returned reached a record-high of 17% in the fourth quarter, compared with 11.5% in Q3 and 13.8% in the same quarter last year.
During 2010 and 2011 the average rate of units returned was 14.6% and 14.5%, respectively. The overall average returns rate recorded in 2012 fell to 13%.
17%
The average
percentage of
units returned
in Q4
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Marketing Performance
Online Marketing ROI (Definition – Total online gross revenue minus amount spent on of online marketing in the quarter divided by amount spent on online marketing in the quarter) The average return on investment for online marketing (per pound spent) reached £18.19 in Q4, up from £17.44 in the previous quarter. The average ROI recorded in Q4 was 34% higher than the average rate recorded in the same quarter last year (£13.61). During 2010 the average ROI for online marketing spend was £16.30 and this dropped to £14.38 in 2011. However, in 2012 the average ROI recorded rose to £19.80. -
£18.19
The average ROI
recorded in Q4
per pound spent
on online
marketing by UK
e-retailers
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Geographical Split
Percentage of sales within the UK
(Definition –Number of gross orders within the UK as a percentage of
total gross orders in the quarter)
The percentage of sales within the UK (despatched from UK-based online
stores) rose to 95.6% in Q4, compared with 94.8% in the third quarter.
The average number of sales within the EU dropped from 2.9% in the
third quarter to 1.8% in Q4.
95.6%
The percentage
of online sales
within the UK
during Q4
Q22011/12
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Channel
Percentage of sales via mobile (Definition – Percentage of gross sales via mobile devices (including tablet devices) of total UK e-retail sales Sales via mobile devices (including tablets) accounted for 15.4% of UK e-retail sales in the third quarter, up from 13.2% in Q3. Since the beginning of 2010 the penetration of mobile commerce in terms of UK e-retail sales has soared 3,850% from just 0.4% in Q1 2010. During Q4 2011 mobile commerce accounted for 5.3% of e-retail sales and, therefore, the mobile penetration rate has tripled year-on-year. During 2012 mobile commerce accounted for 12% of e-retail sales, up from 4% in 2011 and 0.9% in 2010. The percentage of e-retail website visits via mobile devices (including tablets) recorded minimal growth of just 0.4% in the fourth quarter compared with Q3, accounting for 24% of all e-retail visits.
15.4%
The percentage of
online sales via
mobile devices in
the UK in Q4
2011/12
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About the IMRG Capgemini Quarterly Benchmarking
The Quarterly Benchmarking tracks over 40 key performance indicators across 7 categories,
leading to unique insights into the performance of the UK e-retail sector. The categories/KPIs are:
Website Performance: visitor bounce rate
basket abandonment rate
checkout abandonment rate
Customer Acquisition active customer retention rate
& Retention: percentage of new customers
Commercial: average selling price per item
average order value
Channel: percentage of sales via mobile
percentage of visits via mobile
percentage of click & collect sales
Marketing: PPC ROI
affiliate ROI
online marketing ROI
revenue split by marketing method – paid, affiliate, email, natural,
direct, social, display & other
visits split by marketing method - paid, affiliate, email, natural,
direct, social, display & other
orders split by marketing method – paid, affiliate, email, natural,
direct, social, display & other
Order Fulfilment: percentage of total orders cancelled due to fraud
percentage of units returned
no. of items / products per order
Geographical Split: percentage of sales within the UK
percentage of sales within the EU 27 (excluding the UK)
percentage of sales rest of the world (excluding the UK and EU27)
The quarters run as follows: Quarter 1 - February to April Quarter 2 - May to July Quarter 3 - August to October Quarter 4 - November to January
Full year runs from February to January
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What are the benefits? All retailers taking part in the Quarterly Benchmarking receive first-hand results and charts, providing insight into over 40 KPIs (dependent on the data they are able to provide), including visitor, basket and checkout abandonment rates, percentage of orders cancelled due to fraud, geographical split of sales (UK, EU & rest of world), marketing ROI (PPC, affiliate, online) and revenue, visits & orders split by marketing method.
The retailer reports also include whisper charts, detailing the maximum and minimum value of each benchmark in the quarterly period, together with the range of upper and lower quartiles and median values of the participant data. All participants’ data remains completely confidential and secure at all times. Participation in the IMRG Capgemini Quarterly Benchmarking is available to reputable e-retailers of all sizes. For further details, or to join the Quarterly Benchmarking please contact: Tina Spooner Chief Information Officer IMRG Tel : +44 (0)20 7716 5604 Email: [email protected]
About IMRG: IMRG (Interactive Media in Retail Group) is the UK’s industry association for e-retail. Formed in
1990, IMRG is setting and maintaining pragmatic and robust e-retail standards to enable fast-track
industry growth, and facilitates its community of members with practical help, information, tools,
guidance and networking. Consumers can be confident when dealing with IMRG Members
because all interact in an environment where they are encouraged to operate using methods that
are Honest, Decent, Legal, Truthful and Fair, and have undertaken to not bring the industry into
disrepute. The strength of IMRG is the collective and cooperative power of its members. For more
information please visit http://www.imrg.org/ or email [email protected].
About Capgemini: Capgemini is a global leader in consulting, technology, outsourcing, and local professional
services, headquartered in Paris, France, and operating in more than 30 countries:
www.uk.capgemini.com.
