Prentice Capital's Zimmerman Predicts Accelerating Retail Growth Despite Fewer Shoppers

NEW YORK, Feb. 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Michael Zimmerman's Prentice Capital predicts that retail sales will grow faster than expected during the first half of this year, despite falling numbers of shoppers instore.

Prentice Capital's Zimmerman notes that the holiday period was strong for retailers, primarily due to huge growth in mobile commerce online. Andrew Lipsman, vice president of marketing and insights at comScore said, "The results show an increase of about 5% in total retail and 15% online … Online obviously is performing better." [1]

Zimmerman's positive view is despite the fact that US store visits fell by 8% during the November and December 2014 despite a late shopping surge, but overall holiday sales should show a 3.5 to 4 percent rise from a year ago because of stronger online buying, analytics company Retail Next said on Wednesday. It's not all bad news however - consumers are still buying, they are just increasingly doing it online.

Online holiday sales rose 13.9 percent over the same period a year ago, according to IBM Digital Analytics. Retail sales on mobile phones accounted for 22.6 percent of all online sales, an increase of 27.2 percent year-over-year. [2]

Prentice Capital's Zimmerman, who has long held the view that retailers need strong branding and well planned online shopping strategies, thinks this new data will put even more pressure on retailers to build strong m-commerce sites, as fewer shoppers venture into stores and sales growth is increasingly driven by sofa shoppers wielding tablet computers & smartphones.

Scott Galloway, an NYU Stern professor of marketing and creator of L2, stated, "Given the evidence, we seem to be entering the start of a persistent mobile age... Brands ignore this shift at their own peril." [3]

Sources:

1. Non-store sales grow twice as fast as store sales during the holiday season - Internet Retailer, 14 Jan 2015
2. Holiday season U.S. store sales down 8 percent in 2014: RetailNext - Reuters, 7 Jan 2015
3. "High-End Brands Are Missing the Boat on Mobile, Study Finds" - Mashable, 11 Jan. 2012

SOURCE Prentice Capital