Next now sells more online than in stores

NExT has become the first major High Street chain to sell more to customers on its website than in its shops.

The fashion chain said the crossover took place last summer as it tapped into shifting shopping habits among British consumers. Chief executive Lord Wolfson (pictured) said online shopping represented a ‘revolution’ that has benefited British households – adding it is up to retailers to adapt to survive. ‘The internet has been good for consumers,’ he said. ‘It is a fact of life for those of us who are established High Street retailers that one way or another, less clothing, homeware, electrical goods and food are going to be sold on the High Street and more online. ‘No one knows what the High Street will look like in ten years, but one thing is certain – the people walking down it will be wearing clothes. ‘And hundreds of thousands of people will be employed in the design, manufacture, distribution, marketing and fulfilment of that product.

‘We cannot decide how our customers will shop; our job is to adapt and serve them in whatever way they want.’

Next, which has 500 stores, is the UK’s biggest clothing retailer and a bellwether for the High Street.

Because sales online did not overtake those in store until the summer, sales across the whole of last year showed the High Street business was still just ahead, but in decline.

Store sales fell 7.9pc to £1.96bn in the last financial year while online sales jumped 14.7pc to £1.92bn. Profits dipped 0.4pc to £722.9m.

Shares rose 2.6pc, or 134p, to 5316p. Despite the landmark shift in how people shop, Wolfson denied the change was unprecedented.

‘The emergence of supermarkets in the 1960s heralded a profound change in the way people shopped for food,’ he said. ‘The online retail revolution is very similar and is likely to result in similar levels of threats and opportunities.’

Next has been battling to keep hold of customers by making it easy for shoppers to collect and return online orders in stores. The service is free for customers to use, compared with £3.99 charged for home deliveries. Wolfson said around 10pc of customers using the click and collect service go on to spend money in the shop. He added it was not an effort to boost visitors but about providing a service to customers. Around 20pc of its wage bill for shop workers is spent on time dedicated to repackaging and delivering returned goods.