If you are a regular reader of this column, you’ve probably gotten used to the updates often containing news that don’t paint a great picture of eCommerce performance. For sure, it’s been a tough few years for online retailers following the pandemic, with trading being very subdued and macro events exerting a profound impact on shoppers’ willingness to spend on general merchandise.

But I’m just the messenger! I can only report what we track at IMRG!

It does rather seem however that some slightly better news on market performance is beginning to seep through. Note that it’s a trickle rather than a flood currently, and I wouldn’t want to overstate it, but the direction of travel is becoming more convincing week after week at the moment.

To be clear: revenue growth is still often negative, and flat rather than overwhelmingly positive when it’s not, as can be seen from the below chart, but the past two months or so have seen a growth rate that is more consistently around the 0% baseline, whereas before we were seeing some big declines and a more erratic flow.

One swallow does not a summer make, it’s true; yet there is more than one swallow here (and I’ll leave that metaphor well alone now, don’t worry). Conversion has been edging up a bit, with the rate in August actually the highest it has been for that month in four years. Traffic has also popped its head above the 0% baseline after a poor start to the year, and is now reliably above it. The growth might not be spectacular necessarily – it’s low single-digit – but it’s the right side of the line at least.

The thing that is holding it back at the moment is slightly lower average basket values, though on the whole the overall picture is one of improving fortunes.

Which is good timing as we approach the Ecommerce Expo, held at the Excel in London on 18-19 September. The whole purpose of this annual gathering of eCommerce professionals is to discover ideas, share knowledge and find out what solutions are available to help you along whichever path you are trying to tread.

IMRG will be there, obviously – and we have a wide range of information to present to attendees from expectations around Black Friday performance to what makes a good email campaign, delivery propositions, checkout structures, not to mention a bit of general market analysis. Furthermore, I’m running a series of leadership sessions to enable senior retailers to discuss long-term strategies, marketing channels and what’s in your tech stack (as well as, perhaps, what should be in it).

You don’t have to spend your whole time with us of course (though technically you probably could), as there are numerous theatres stuffed with content to fit wherever your current interest levels are at. There’s one on the future of digital commerce, post-purchase journeys, omnichannel operations, cross-border, UX and CX.

I have the strange fate of attending this event every year and never seeing any of the content as we tend to be presenting ourselves for the whole time. But for you, operating in a market where the situation is just starting to look a little brighter, it might just be time to jump in with both feet and take in as much as you can.

Hope to see you there.