Very: Shoppers splurge on air friers and games consoles, but group sales slide
Sales at online retailer Very rose 2.2 per cent year-on-year during the busy festive season.
Toys, gifts and beauty and home departments were the main beneficiaries of the spending splurge, with sales up 17.7 per cent and 10.2 per cent respectively.
Games consoles and Ninja air fryers were the bestselling items during the seven weeks between Black Friday and Christmas.
Lionel Desclée, CEO of Very boss, said: “As expected, our customers prioritised toys, gifts and beauty items for their loved ones, justifying our decision to invest in stock within the category.”
However, across the Very Group, which also owns Littlewoods, retail sales dropped 1.3 per cent when compared with the same period in 2021.
Very said trade in 2022 was still 19.6 per cent ahead of the same period pre-pandemic.
The report said new technology had helped Very process orders faster and the speediest Christmas order was done and dusted in 10 minutes and 30 seconds.
Nearly 140,000 customers used the artificial intelligence chatbot every week, reducing customer centre calls by nine per cent.
On Twitter, Very said the results “show a robust performance in a challenging market”.