Thanks to the latest stats coming from the good people at Gfk, it seems timepiece sales are casting a wider net quite literally – on the World Wide Web!
Analysis and market research has unveiled some interesting figures. It has shown that watch sales on the web are up overall and have seen nearly a 24% increase every 12 months.
Watch consumers move online
In addition to this, sales of premium watches have surged in the last quarter, especially those coming in at £5,000 or more. As far as the increase in value is concerned, this again has increased to nearly 20 per cent.
Yet don’t raise your glass of Pimms just yet! As we settle down to another fortnight of sport at Wimbledon, the UK watch sector spells out trouble ahead.
Eyes on the prize
This is largely in part thanks to a decline in sales of around 7 %. So what of the online numbers? Well it seems that year on year; sales on the web have augmented by more than 30%. In fact the average spend currently is likely to hit the £70 mark as consumers focus on higher end models normally costing more than £100.
With competition as fierce as Murray versus Djokovic and as valuable as one of Laura Robson’s victories, it’s set to be an important time for this particular industry.
When drilling even further into the figures, the previous quarter saw the interest in mens watches grow significantly. Revenue turned out to be twice as much when compared with female sales for the month of December alone.
Male timepiece figures double
“Online retailing is continually increasing and this is adding a new dimension to the consumer purchasing journey. Consumer knowledge of products and price before purchasing is now at a level not seen before. It is absolutely crucial to have a clear view of both high street and online channels, and to be able to identify the opportunities for brands and retailers to maximise sales,” added Leanne Whittaker from market research firm Gfk. The shift from offline to online as cannot be denied as more and more watch lovers look to satisfy their horological needs.
Buying time online
For example, premium timepiece company Watchfinder.co.uk has seen so much online interest, they have been nominated for Watch Retailer of the Year at the respected Watch Salon and UK Jewellery Awards.
Celebrating its 20th year, the final is to be held next month at London’s Natural History Museum under the watchful eyes of many individuals…including an 85 foot diplodocus!
History pays homage to time
This particular web fascination is due to their impressive collection of exquisite pre-owned watches with more than 4 million visitors to the site each year.
They also possess the largest pre-owned watch collection in the UK and all from just a couple of watch enthusiasts who saw a gap in the market some 10 years ago.
How time flies.
