Recovery through 2021 will be predominantly consumer-led and its speed and extent will be determined by the willingness to spend. Employment levels and real wage growth will be key, but consumers are unlikely to start spending heavily until confidence has recovered.

Online retailers have performed strongly, with sector tailwinds turning into a strong gale; the extent of the shift online has been extraordinary. But simply being online is not a silver bullet as securing and retaining market share is wildly competitive and can be expensive.

This growth has seen a number of e-commerce companies list on the stock market in recent months, with public market investors providing the capital for the next stage of growth and an exit opportunity for Private Equity of Venture Capital investors, demonstrating the variety of funding options available for e-commerce businesses.

The pandemic has also thrown up acquisition opportunities and stronger companies, private equity and overseas buyers are ready to snap up mispriced assets.

Acceleration in online sales has had an environmental impact with emissions from deliveries, freight and packaging increasing. Increasingly E-commerce retailers need to consider how to offset their impact to maintain a sustainable advantage.

Join us for our next episode of ‘Inside the Deal’ on 24th June at 10am where we will discuss:

– How to sustain the e-commerce 2020 boom
– What opportunities does M&A offer
– The public markets – how they view and value e-commerce
– What funding options can accelerate growth
– What effect has growth had on ESG (environment and societal factors)
– How will developments in Technology (AI, VR etc.,) impact future growth

Our host

Oli Barrett MBE

Speakers

– Anna Cusden – Look Fabulous Forever
– Ben Wigley – Co-Founder, Big Green Smile
– Henry Wells – Head of Consumer, finnCap Group
– Kevin Dorren – CEO, Parsley Box
– Matt Goode – Head of Consumer, finnCap Capital Markets
– Mike Hancox – CEO of Yodel
– Rob Halliday-Stein – Founder, BullionByPost