Biggest online sales growth due to warm weather

March 28, 2019 by
Jeroen Leenders

spring

The unusually warm February weather has increased the growth of online sales severely. It is the biggest growth in six months, according to IMRG Capgemini eRetail Sales Index. Even though sales in February were below the average five-year growth of +10.6% year on year, this warm weather-growth finally gives relief to online retailers who struggled recently.

The ‘Garden’ sector experienced the largest online sales growth due to the impact of the warm weather. Compared to last year, the sector grew by +33.3%. It is followed by ‘Health and Beauty’ with a +13.4% year over year increase. However, not all sectors were able to profit from this change in temperature. Electricals went down by -15.4% and gift-sales even decreased with -27.6%. The sales of clothing did not endure a drastic change (+0.9%). It was still too early in the year for spring collections to be released.

Spring

The principal consultant in retail customer engagement of Capgemini, Bhavesh Unadkat says: “February is usually a transitional month as spring lines take over the shop floor and clearance continues, especially online. In this regard, it is interesting to see that conversion was up over 20% on the year but sales only grew by 9%.”

China-to-EU E-commerce Shipments Plunge 65% as New Customs Rules Reshape Cross-Border Trade
Chinese low-value and e-commerce exports to the European Union fell by 65% year-on-year in August 2026, providing one of the clearest indications yet that Europe's new customs regime is fundamentally...
September 23, 2026
Shopify Opens Its Stores to Meta’s Muse While Amazon Blocks the AI Shopping Agent
A major strategic divide is emerging over the future of agentic commerce. Shopify is opening its merchant ecosystem to Meta’s new AI shopping agent, Muse, while Amazon has taken the...
September 22, 2026
Amazon, Temu and TikTok Shop Face Scrutiny After Banned Mercury Cosmetics Found on Marketplaces
Amazon, Temu and TikTok Shop are facing renewed scrutiny over product safety after a Reuters investigation found more than 20 skin-lightening products previously identified as containing prohibited levels of mercury...
September 16, 2026
Top crossmenu

By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. more information

The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.

Close