Online sales explode but markets for holidays and high fashion collapse

DutchNews, April 28, 2020  

Photo: Depositphotos.com

Online shopping has exploded since the corona crisis but shops selling holidays and luxury goods have seen a huge drop in revenue, new figures show. 

Market researcher GfK, which only looked at the non-food sector, found that Easter week was particularly busy ,with with peak growth of 72%, representing tens of millions of euros in extra earnings compared to the same week last year. 

‘Before coronavirus many online shops saw growth of 16% to 18%, now it’s 60% to 70%,’ Wijnand Jongen, director of Thuiswinkel.org, told broadcaster NOS. 

Most of the purchases have to do with the fact that consumers are living and working at home. ‘Everything to do with entertainment, DIY, the garden and exercising is doing really well,’Jongen said. Working from home has increased the sale of computer mice, printers, chairs, laptops and headphones. ‘Some online shops can’t source the stuff quickly enough,’ Jongen said. 

By contrast, online outlets for holidays and tourism in general have seen their businesses collapse. Expensive fashion items have had to make way for comfortable clothes, like pajamas and jogging trousers, underwear and comfortable shoes, GfK found. 

Among the shops profiting most are highstreet staple Hema and cosmetics chain Rituals, which saw their online sales triple. Hema has been grappling with a 30% fall in physical sales.