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Argos’ parent company Home Retail Group has announced details of the final eight-week trading period for the financial year ended February 27th 2016.
The Group revealed that Argos’ internet sales grew by 13 per cent in the period and represented 51 per cent of the retailer’s total sales, up from 46 per cent for the same period last year.
Within this, mobile commerce sales grew by 15 per cent to represent 28 per cent of total Argos sales, up from 25 per cent in the prior year.
Total sales at Argos increased by 1.9 per cent to £515m. Net new space contributed 3.0 per cent principally as a result of the 94 digital concessions and collection points opened within the past year.
The store estate has increased by a net 90 stores to 845 in the year. Like-for-like sales declined by 1.1 per cent in the period, however the cannibalisation impact on like-for-like sales as a result of the additional new space was around 1 per cent and therefore underlying like-for-like sales were broadly flat in the period.
“I am pleased with the continued improvement in Argos’ sales performance in the period, together with the continued progress in the Argos Transformation Plan to become a digital retail leader,” said John Walden, chief executive of Home Retail Group.
“In October we introduced FastTrack – market-leading propositions for same-day home delivery and store collection. Since its introduction, customer awareness of FastTrack has continued to grow and its operations are improving, with both on-time delivery rates and customer satisfaction now at leading levels.
“Along with FastTrack, the combination of our now proven digital concession model, together with improvements in digital experiences have driven increases in both digital sales and digital participation,” he added.
