2020/09/11 GlobalData: Dixons Carphone’s investment online pays off as electrical shoppers change channel

‘‘Dixons Carphone has boasted a strong set of results today with total group like-for-like sales up 14%, driven by a stellar performance in electricals both in the UK & Ireland (UK&I) and internationally. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a surge in demand for items such as fridge freezers, home office technology and small domestic appliances and the electricals specialist has been well placed to capitalise on this rise in demand with its leading credentials as an expert in this sector. Despite this, its results in the UK&I continue to be hampered by poor mobile sales, with its mobile division witnessing a 56% like-for-like drop, following Dixons Carphone’s closure of 531 Carphone Warehouse stores in March.

Its online performance was the clear driving force behind its strong performance over the 17 weeks to 29 August, with online UK&I electrical like-for-like sales up 218% in the first eight weeks of this period. Dixons Carphone tripling its online sales during the period that its stores were closed and its ability to maintain this momentum as its stores began to reopen highlight a significant shift in consumer attitudes to purchasing electrical items online. And with AO.com a significant threat in the online electricals market, recent investment in its online proposition, such as its mobile app and ShopLive website feature, look well judged.

In spite of its strong like-for-like performance during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK, its weak mobile proposition and economic uncertainty within the UK ensures it will be a long road to recovery for the electricals specialist. But it is clear that the steps that Alex Baldock’s has taken since taking over as CEO in 2018, are beginning to bear fruit and Dixons Carphone looks set to cement its position as an authority in the electricals market after four years of declining market share.”