Visualsoft helps retailers buck trend of declining retail sales

Stockton-based ecommerce and digital agency, Visualsoft, has seen a 50 per cent increase in client revenues, bucking the trend of declining retail sales and difficult market conditions.

Visualsoft manages ecommerce and marketing for more than 1000 businesses and in the months of September and October 2019, analysed performance data to find that client revenues were up by 49 per cent and 26 per cent respectively.

Transactions were also up by 34 per cent and 27 per cent in the last two months.

This is in stark contrast with KPMG’s monthly retail sales report, which found that September saw a decline in retail sales. The auditors put this down to Brexit uncertainty, with like-for-like sales declining by 1.7 per cent.

Online sales also moved closer to stationery, with growth of non-food online sales at just 0.7 per cent.

The High Street Sales Tracker from BDO also painted a gloomy picture, stating that retail sales in the final week of October had fallen by 6.45 per cent.

But for Visualsoft and its retail clients, things are looking more positive, with a 32 per cent increase in users to websites in September and another 8 per cent in October.

Online purchases are also up 21 per cent compared to 2018.

Tim Johnson, chief sales officer of Visualsoft, said: “It is a testing time for UK retailers in the current economic and political environment, as Brexit and general election uncertainty continues to roll on, slowing the economy’s growth to its lowest rate for 10 years.

“However, consumers are still spending and we have been able to put our retail clients in the best position to take advantage of online sales.

“Consumers are continuing to turn to the convenience of online retailers and snub the high street, something which is reflected in the 34 per cent increase in overall transactions.”