Auto sales provide blueprint for big-ticket items on web, eMarketer says

Retailers wondering whether big ticket items will sell on the web need only look to the automotive industry, eMarketer Inc. reports. “Not only is the US motor vehicle and parts manufacturing industry on the information highway, it is racing ahead of other segments and piling up sales,” eMarketer concludes in its new Automotive Industry Online report.

EMarketer reports that Internet-based trade accounted for 9.2% of all automobiles and auto parts and accessories sold in the U.S. last year. This year, the web will account for 12.5% of all sales and will nudge up against a fifth of all sales in 2005.

EMarketer reports that sales of motor vehicles and parts reached $1.47 trillion in 2002, of which $135 billion was transacted on the web. This year, total sales will reach $1.6 trillion and $199.7 billion will take place on the web.

In 2004, the total market will reach $1.7 trillion with $274 billion happening on the web; in 2005, the total will be $1.9 trillion with $351 billion--18.8%--on the web.

"The automobile industry wasn`t the fastest out of the blocks when it came to e-commerce and utilizing the Internet," says eMarketer senior analyst Noah Elkin. "But it`s catching up. In fact, it`s pulling ahead of other industries."