Wet and chaotic Olympic forecast has Brits jet setting through July

New figures from Quidco, UK cashback site, show that online sales in categories such as travel are continuing to flourish despite the persistent struggle faced by retailers on the British highstreet.

According to Quidco's latest category report, Brits dodged the unseasonable drizzle and predicted Olympics mayhem last month by logging on to the site to book breaks abroad - boosting sales in the travel transport category by 50% versus July 2011, with sales in apartments, villas and hotels accounting for 17% of Quidco's total sales. 

Those that stayed at home to celebrate the summer of sport also avoided the highstreet, opting instead for a spot of self-indulgence that saw a 168% increase in fitness and pampering purchases through the Quidco site.

With rain and Olympics fever dampening highstreet sales across the UK in June and July, British retailers have faced their toughest summer yet, with a 10.3% rise in insolvencies reported between April and June. However, further figures from Quidco show that help is at hand, as its mobile app (responsible for incentivising footfall) experiences a 368% increase in check-ins.

Using location-based technology, the Quidco mobile app incentivises the shopper with monetary amounts when entering certain highstreet stores and ‘check in.' And news that the UK's first ever ‘check in for cash app' is enjoying a resurgence, will come as positive news for the highstreet.

In recent weeks, the app has seen paid for ‘check ins' more than treble. Further evidence that the savvy shopper is here to stay, comes from an increase in engagement, as the average shopper uses the app around 16 times every month - over five times more regularly than last year.

Andy Oldham, Managing Director at Quidco, comments: "Despite a well documented struggle in the retail sector over the past few months, Quidco is encouraged to see both consistently strong online sales figures and increased engagement levels with the mobile app.

"Rain and rumours of Olympic chaos may have put many shoppers off a visit to the highstreet in recent months, but we're confident that technology can play a significant role in both helping the high street fight back and saving consumers money."