Marginable Uplift in Sales for UK SME Online Retailers in Q4

Actinic Q4 2011 Survey Shows Marginable Uplift in Sales for UK SME Online Retailers

The sixth quarterly UK online sales survey conducted by ecommerce specialist Actinic shows a slight increase in online retail sales for small to medium enterprises (SMEs) in the fourth quarter of 2011 compared to Q4 2010.

The research reports an average of only a 1.5% increase in sales revenue as well as a 1.6% increase in the numbers of orders processed in the three months to 31 December 2011, when compared to the same quarter in 2010. However, there was over a 3% increase in the average number of orders processed by each company in Q4 2011 when compared to Q3 2011.

The average order value has remained virtually unchanged at £76.30 for Q4 2011 compared to £76.38 for Q4 2010.

Simon Armstrong, marketing manager at Actinic Online comments, "These figures show a turbulent time for SME online store owners with many needing special offers even before Christmas to tempt customers to place an order, thus hitting the gross profit margins for many e-tailers. However, in comparison to the high street, with frequent announcements of chains of stores in difficulty, online is still faring well in very uncertain times."

Read the full article at www.Actinic.co.uk