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Love affair moves online

online retail spending this Valentine’s looks set to grow 12 per cent despite recession

UK - February 13, 2009

Nearly a third of UK consumers are expected to buy gifts online this year, a 12 per cent rise on 2008, according to research from Avail Intelligence.

The behavioural merchandising experts have revealed that 37 per cent of respondents would rather shop for Valentine’s day presents online, than try to find the right gift on the high street. More than a fifth of respondents indicated that they would rather shop anonymously from home to save the embarrassment of buying their gift in store.

Despite the current recession, significant others are 15 per cent more likely to receive jewellery ( 33 per cent) than chocolate (18 per cent) on February 14th. Holidays also look set to boom as more than a quarter (29 per cent) of respondents indicated they would book one for their partner this Valentine’s. More original gifts included novelty boxer shorts and homemade cookies.

Executive quote

“We’ve already seen a number of high profile retail casualties this year as the recession hits home. People are clearly still spending though, especially around occasions such as Valentine’s day,” said Pontus Kristiansson, CEO and co-founder, Avail Intelligence. “Online retailers are ideally positioned to take advantage of this. Intelligent recommendations will create an enhanced shopping experience online. Adopting a category management approach, as often seen on the high street, will attract both new custom and have a positive impact on sales.”

About the company

Avail Intelligence is the leader in maximising the value of visitor traffic to e-commerce web sites. The company’s technology harnesses the community intelligence from site visitors to deliver the most effective shopping experience for new and returning customers.

Using advanced mathematical techniques from its research arm Avail Labs, Avail Intelligence has created the Avail eMarketing suite. The suite comprises a set of tools, which improve relevance when merchandising to and communicating with individual visitors across the entire Customer Interaction Cycle™ of a single web site or across multiple web sites.

The results are significant, immediate and measurable improvements to conversion rates and average order values.

Avail Intelligence’s technology is being used by over 80% of the leading Scandinavian e-commerce sites. Key UK customers include GAME, Berry Brothers and DVD.co.uk.

Contact details

For further press information and photography please contact:
Patrick Hussey at LEWIS, the PR agency
Tel: +44 (0) 161 601 7740
Fax: +44 (0) 161 601 7741
Email: availuk@lewispr.com
Website: http://www.lewispr.com

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