What you need to know about the new direct marketing guidance note
Nadine Mather and Chloë Loubser
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E-commerce growing at a good clip, but many consumers still don't get it
USA, EUROPE: Despite steady growth, e-commerce still accounts for a relatively small share of the overall retail market, and that's not likely to change significantly in the near term. "It needs time and education," said In-Stat analyst Jim McGregor. "Most people don't know that you can buy just about anything - and I do - from Amazon, including car parts, office supplies, food and household items. This is the educational part."
E-commerce is growing, but it's no longer on fire. Forrester Research released two new forecast reports on Monday, 28 February 2011. The reports project online retail in the US and Europe will grow at a rate of 10% per year from 2010 to 2015. The report expects 2015 online retail to reach US$279 billion in the US and 134 billion euros in Europe. The forecasts are comprised of business-to-consumer sales without travel and financial services. The European forecast includes 17 Western European countries and a summary by category of each of their markets.
US e-commerce sales grew 12.6% in 2010, reaching $176 billion. The report shows consumers will continue to shift from shopping at physical stores to shopping online. Increased use of smartphones, tablets and computers is contributing to this, as well as a greater online selection, better prices and new business models including daily deals like Groupon.
Another boost to e-commerce is due to traditional brick-and-mortar stores creating a bigger and better online and social media presence. Facebook and Twitter are becoming an important part of marketing. This is good and bad for retailers, since online sales could detract from physical store sales.
In Western Europe, the online retail market grew 18% from 2009 to 2010, but growth is expected to slow as the market matures. By 2015, 68% of online adults are expected to have made an online purchase.
Forrester did not respond to an E-Commerce Times' request for comments by press time.
Read the full article on E-CommerceTimes.com.
