Online Retail Spending Reaches $39 Billion In Q4
February 10, 2010
Online retail spending in the U.S. in the fourth quarter reached $39 billion, a 3 percent increase compared to a year ago, according to the latest report from comScore.
Total retail ecommerce spending reached $129.8 billion in 2009, slightly lower than the previous year's total of $130.1 billion.
"The fourth quarter, with a 3 percent year-over-year growth, helped end what has been a disappointing year for online consumer spending on a more positive note," said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni.
"As we head into 2010, there is reason for guarded optimism for online retail spending to continue to gain share of consumers' wallets. At the same time, I expect absolute growth to be stymied by continued high unemployment and the deleveraging that is occurring in the economy as consumers exercise their new found propensity to save."
The largest online retailers, led by Amazon and Walmart, gained market share of ecommerce sales compared to small and medium-sized retailers.
Spending growth was driven by an increase in online buyers, while average spending per buyer saw modest declines.
Other highlights from the report include:
- Free shipping factored into more than 40 percent of e-commerce transactions during the holiday season.
- Tuesday, December 15 ranked as the heaviest U.S. online spending day in history at $913 million.
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Online Shoppers Have Little Patience For Slow Websites
January 28, 2010
Online shoppers experience more website slow downs and other problems completing transactions during popular shopping periods when traffic to retail websites peaks, according to a new survey by Equation Research conducted on behalf of web performance firm Gomez.
At stake is the $1,050 that each online shopper spends annually, according to the survey, with a significant amount of spending done during these peak times.
"This survey confirms that consumers expect retail Web sites to perform well for them, regardless of how many other shoppers are also visiting the site," said Matt Poepsel, Vice President, Performance Strategies, Gomez Division.
"It's also clear that when shoppers encounter Web performance problems, their patience and loyalty run thin. Once a customer has left your site, chances are they are not going to give you a second chance--and few retailers can afford to lose business this way."
Highlights of the survey include:
- A third of online shoppers had a bad experience on a retail Web site during the 2009 Holiday shopping season and 15 percent found the problem to be "unacceptable."
- These bad online experiences caused nearly one in five online shoppers to shop at another site.
- In general, 41 percent of online shoppers will only tolerate one or two bad online experiences before abandoning a retailer's Web site.
Have You Read This?
>Cyber Monday Deals Attract Online Shoppers
>Walmart Wins Thanksgiving, Amazon Wins Black Friday
>Online Retailers See Strong Cyber Monday Sales
Google Shares Top Retail Searches for the Holiday Season
December 24, 2009
Google has shared the top retail searches for the 2009 holiday season. These results are based on the company's Insights for Search tool.
"Using Google Insights for Search, we can see that the hottest toys over the last seven days include stalwarts like Pikachu and Legos, as well as newcomers, such as the Nerf Marshmellow Shooter and the surprise hit of the holiday season, a blanket-with-sleeves known as the Snuggie," says Eric Lopez of the Google Retail Team.
"In the shopping category, we've seen Black Friday reach new heights, toping the rising search term list over the last 30 days as consumers continue to seek out the best prices," adds Lopez. "Consumers too continue to turn to familiar, top retailers such as Walmart, Best Buy, Amazon and Macy's."
Google has been encouraging retailers to start looking ahead to the rest of the Winter season with regards to what people will be searching for: things like Valentine's Day gifts, Prom dresses, wedding planning, ski equipment, etc.
On a positive note for retailers, new research from Market Force Info finds that a good percentage of consumers intend to "splurge" on at least one item over the next few months.
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Amazon Offers Free One day Shipping For Kindle Orders On December 23
December 22, 2009
Amazon.com said today it is offering free one day shipping for orders of its Kindle placed on December 23 and promises delivery in time for Christmas.
The company is also offering free two day shipping for Kindle orders placed today. Last week Amazon said its Kindle broke another record with its best sales day. The company did not provide any specific sales figures.
Amazon boasts that its Kindle continues to be the most wished for, most gifted and best selling product across the company.
"It's easy to get busy during the holidays, so we've decided to make it easy even for procrastinators to order Kindle, the #1 most wished for gift on Amazon, and get it delivered for free and in time for Christmas," said Ian Freed, Vice President, Amazon Kindle.
"With Kindle, you can give the gift of choosing over 390,000 books and more than 100 top newspapers and magazines from around the world and begin reading in less than 60 seconds."
Have You Read This?
> Barnes & Noble Says No Nook For Holidays
> Amazon Kindle Breaks Monthly Sales Record
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