A NEW STUDY has shown that the number of global retailers that can deliver goods purchased online to Irish consumers has doubled in the past 12 months. This means that Ireland is now the fifth most developed online market globally, according to the research by real estate adviser CBRE.
Around 43 per cent of the 326 global retailers surveyed said they deliver goods bought online to Irish consumers compared to 24 per cent in 2011. This puts the Irish market 1 per cent behind the US and UK, where 44 per cent of the same retailers deliver goods.
Value and denim retailers have embraced the online delivery platform while food retailers lag well behind as the challenge of delivering fresh food remains an obstacle for supermarkets.
Suzanne Barrett of CBRE said there had been a focus by global retailers on the Irish market over the past year, and a recognition that the age profile of the Irish population offered huge potential for online sales.
Our lack of a postcode system could have impeded delivery of goods bought online in the past. But retailers like Debenhams and Marks Spencer have overcome this and utilised advanced logistics networks with the UK and Europe to improve their platform.
The report also showed that only 40 per cent of the global retailers delivering goods to Ireland had a store in the Irish market. CBRE said that with prime rents on the high streets and in key shopping centres throughout Ireland now at a much more competitive level there was real potential for some retailers who had tested the Irish market online to establish a physical presence here.
