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London - British retailers who were able to tap consumers' growing love of online shopping and demand for must-have tablet computers, gadgets and cheap fashion enjoyed robust trading in an otherwise tough Christmas for the industry.
A raft of trading updates on Thursday showed companies including Dixons Retail, Europe's number 2 electric goods retailer by revenue, Home Retail, Britain's biggest household goods group, and online-only grocer Ocado reported strong sales growth over the key festive period.
Primark, the hugely popular discount fashion chain, also delivered robust trading following a more muted autumn, while plus-size retailer N Brown said its online sales now accounted for over half of overall revenue as tablet computers take the place of traditional catalogues.
Shift in demand
Despite signs that the British economy is improving, household incomes have stayed under pressure as inflation outstrips average pay rises and retailers' Christmas trading updates have shown mixed results.
The standout performers, such as Next and John Lewis have made their website an asset. Those that failed to excel online, including Morrisons, Debenhams and Marks & Spencer, have struggled.
Industry data published last week showed that while total UK retail sales were up 1.8% year-on-year in December, online sales of non-food products grew 19.2%, the highest growth in four years, reflecting the speed of the shift in demand from physical stores to the internet.
The pattern was repeated on Thursday, with Home Retail's Argos reporting its strongest trading on a like-for-like basis in over 10 years as it moves to become a digitally-led, instead of a catalogue-led, business starts to pay off.
Argos said it had seen strong demand for gaming consoles, tablets and TVs over the key Christmas trading period, with internet sales growing to 46% of total sales, up from 42% a year ago, helped by rising sales via tablets and smartphones.
Lift sales
"Customers are looking for strong availability and immediacy," outgoing Home Retail chief executive Terry Duddy said. The firm said the most popular items were the new PlayStation and Xbox consoles, Appstar 7 tablet and Teksta robotic dogs.
Dixons Retail, home to the Currys and PC World chains in Britain, Elkjop in Nordic countries and Kotsovolos in Greece, said web sales had grown by 23%, helping the overall group to lift sales on a like-for-like basis by 3% in the 1 November to 4 January period.
Dixons said its growth had been driven by sales of tablets, kitchen gadgets and big screen TVs, with a particularly strong post-Christmas sale in the UK.
"We sold one laptop every four seconds on Boxing Day," said chief executive Seb James.
He said the firm sold all the Apple iPad Air stock it could get hold of, while Kenwood food mixers flew off the shelves driven by the huge popularity of "The Great British Bake Off" television show.
The need for a strong online offering has also been the difference in the hugely competitive grocery sector.
Strong trading
Trading updates from Britain's traditional supermarkets last week showed they were seeing little, if any, growth in sales at their stores. But online grocery is booming.
Internet grocery sales in Britain over the Christmas and New Year period grew 22% year-on-year, with 15% of British households placing orders, said market researcher Kantar Worldpanel.
Online-only grocer Ocado, whose shares have risen over five-fold in the last year on the back of a deal with Morrisons, posted gross sales growth of 21.3% in the six weeks to 5 January, reflecting strong trading in the seven days up to Christmas.
In clothing, Primark posted a 12% leap in constant-currency sales in the 16 weeks to 4 January, in stark contrast to Marks & Spencer, Britain's largest clothing retailer, which last week posted a 10th straight quarterly fall in underlying general merchandise sales.
A raft of trading updates on Thursday showed companies including Dixons Retail, Europe's number 2 electric goods retailer by revenue, Home Retail, Britain's biggest household goods group, and online-only grocer Ocado reported strong sales growth over the key festive period.
Primark, the hugely popular discount fashion chain, also delivered robust trading following a more muted autumn, while plus-size retailer N Brown said its online sales now accounted for over half of overall revenue as tablet computers take the place of traditional catalogues.
Shift in demand
Despite signs that the British economy is improving, household incomes have stayed under pressure as inflation outstrips average pay rises and retailers' Christmas trading updates have shown mixed results.
The standout performers, such as Next and John Lewis have made their website an asset. Those that failed to excel online, including Morrisons, Debenhams and Marks & Spencer, have struggled.
Industry data published last week showed that while total UK retail sales were up 1.8% year-on-year in December, online sales of non-food products grew 19.2%, the highest growth in four years, reflecting the speed of the shift in demand from physical stores to the internet.
The pattern was repeated on Thursday, with Home Retail's Argos reporting its strongest trading on a like-for-like basis in over 10 years as it moves to become a digitally-led, instead of a catalogue-led, business starts to pay off.
Argos said it had seen strong demand for gaming consoles, tablets and TVs over the key Christmas trading period, with internet sales growing to 46% of total sales, up from 42% a year ago, helped by rising sales via tablets and smartphones.
Lift sales
"Customers are looking for strong availability and immediacy," outgoing Home Retail chief executive Terry Duddy said. The firm said the most popular items were the new PlayStation and Xbox consoles, Appstar 7 tablet and Teksta robotic dogs.
Dixons Retail, home to the Currys and PC World chains in Britain, Elkjop in Nordic countries and Kotsovolos in Greece, said web sales had grown by 23%, helping the overall group to lift sales on a like-for-like basis by 3% in the 1 November to 4 January period.
Dixons said its growth had been driven by sales of tablets, kitchen gadgets and big screen TVs, with a particularly strong post-Christmas sale in the UK.
"We sold one laptop every four seconds on Boxing Day," said chief executive Seb James.
He said the firm sold all the Apple iPad Air stock it could get hold of, while Kenwood food mixers flew off the shelves driven by the huge popularity of "The Great British Bake Off" television show.
The need for a strong online offering has also been the difference in the hugely competitive grocery sector.
Strong trading
Trading updates from Britain's traditional supermarkets last week showed they were seeing little, if any, growth in sales at their stores. But online grocery is booming.
Internet grocery sales in Britain over the Christmas and New Year period grew 22% year-on-year, with 15% of British households placing orders, said market researcher Kantar Worldpanel.
Online-only grocer Ocado, whose shares have risen over five-fold in the last year on the back of a deal with Morrisons, posted gross sales growth of 21.3% in the six weeks to 5 January, reflecting strong trading in the seven days up to Christmas.
In clothing, Primark posted a 12% leap in constant-currency sales in the 16 weeks to 4 January, in stark contrast to Marks & Spencer, Britain's largest clothing retailer, which last week posted a 10th straight quarterly fall in underlying general merchandise sales.
