Editor: Phillippa Smith
ISBN: 1-84168-202-0

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In 2000, the total UK home shopping market was worth an estimated £15bn. The market is growing by approximately 20 percent per annum. The market has seen growth across all sectors, including electronic home shopping, despite press reports over 2000 and 2001. A particularly strong emerging sector is the home delivery of groceries by the supermarket multiples.

The home shopping market includes the traditional catalogue retailers which dominate the market. However, the market also includes direct sellers that use newspapers and magazines, as well as increasingly television (TV), for advertising. Party plan and door-to-door remain active, although they are minority sectors. The third segment of the market is electronic retailing which includes the Internet and interactive TV, both still new forms of retailing to the majority of consumers.

In the last 12 months, home shopping has been one of the most analysed and reported sectors of the UK's retail trade. This has largely been due to the problems with the much-hyped dotcom electronic-commerce (e-commerce) retailers. Electronic shopping via the Internet has become a burgeoning sector, with new players appearing on the market almost daily and, in the last year, disappearing daily. Entrepreneurs with a good idea for an e-commerce venture initially found little difficulty in attracting venture capital and start-ups found little trouble in attracting press interest. This situation has now changed completely.

However, despite the growing interest in Internet retailing globally, other forms of home shopping remain dynamic and growing. Catalogue shopping has not disappeared, but has continued to become ever more varied and able to cater to niche markets. The catalogue retailers have moved onto the Web and into digital TV. Digital TV has opened up further sales channels for companies, such as the television specialist retailer, QVC, and new opportunities for travel agencies and other retailers, with the advent of services such as Open from OnDigital.

In 1999, there was a revival of other traditional forms of home shopping, including party plans and door-to-door selling, and off-the-page shopping remains a strong force in the UK.

The continuing strength of the UK retail economy bodes well for the UK home shopping market. Naturally, this is of benefit to the wider retail economy and, at present, growing sales across all forms of retail in the UK are benefiting the sector. The home shopping market in the UK is predicted to grow at approximately 20 percent per annum between 2001 and 2004. In one sense, this high growth period for the market has come about as e-commerce becomes an established part of the market. However, the retailing scene is becoming increasingly concerned about the possibility of recession with the news of a slowdown in retailing in the US and continental Europe.

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Last updated by Mandy Porteous 18th July 2001