Written by Kayleigh Bateman CRN, 23 Oct 2008

Etailers have been urged to focus on customer retention as new figures point to a sharp decline in online sales growth.

IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index, recently revealed that online annual spending slowed to 14.8 per cent in September - compared to 73.2 per cent for the same month in 2007 (Channelweb, 21 October).

It is the third consecutive month of annual growth below 20 per cent.

But David Smith, director of operations at IMRG, said: “It is important for businesses to make their website stickier, so a customer does not abandon it after a few clicks.

“The figures are still showing growth – even amongst a recession with businesses posting losses, when you dig down in to the figures many businesses are still experiencing increases for their online sales.”

James Kight, managing director of Printerland, claimed the reseller’s online business is booming having grown 28 per cent in the last year.

“People are still buying but more are using online stores for reference to find a bargain and then purchasing on the phone,” he said.

Roger Butterworth, chief executive of online reseller, eXpansys, said: “This research shows that online spending is still growing in a shrinking market.

“We are aware that the growth of online spending is slowing, so we are watching our prices closely to compete with the retail stores.”