Ecommerce spending is expected to grow 13.7% to $51.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010, topping last year’s Q4 sales of $45.2 billion, according to a new forecast published by eMarketer.
Strong online holiday sales will push annual ecommerce sales to $162.4 billion for full-year 2010, up 12.7% over 2009. Online holiday sales will represent an estimated 23.7% of online retail sales in 2010, underlining the importance that November and December have on retailers’ annual ecommerce sales.
One reason for the uptick is shoppers continue to shift a greater share of their holiday spending from stores to the Internet. As principal analyst Jeffrey Grau writes in his upcoming holiday ecommerce report:
[Consumers] do so to avoid crowded malls, find bargains and locate unusual or popular items that are unavailable in stores. Cost-conscious consumers also see online shopping as a way to spend wisely. They can go to coupon sites and shopping blogs and communities to learn about bargains. They can also research purchases to find cheaper alternatives.
Another positive for ecommerce is online shoppers are more affluent than consumers in general, and affluents have returned to shopping, as evident by the postive sales numbers reported by upscale department stores like Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus.
Mobile commerce and social commerce are also much more mature than last year. Far more retailers are expecting customers to use smartphones to read customer reviews, compare prices and locate items that may be out of stock. Meanwhile, digitally literate shoppers will continue to follow retailers on Facebook and Twitter to learn about special promotions and in-store events as well as partake in contests intended to stir positive buzz.
Posted: October 27, 2010. Filed under: Consumers & E-Commerce, RetailAll comments are moderated (during business hours) and are generally published if they are on-topic and not considered spam.
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