Holiday online sales to rise 16% to $13 billion, report says
E-retailers should have a good holiday shopping season despite a sluggish economy, falling consumer confidence and a possible war with Iraq, says research firm eMarketer Inc. Its U.S. Online Holiday Shopping Report projects online sales, excluding travel, will rise 16% over last year’s season to $12.97 billion.
The 16% increase in online holiday buying is at least four times the expected growth in overall retail sales. "Online holiday spending is the bright spot in an otherwise dark picture," said Nevin Cohen, senior analyst at eMarketer. "Overall retail sales are expected to grow only 3% or 4% over last year’s holiday numbers."
New York-based eMarketer, which bases its report on aggregated data compiled by dozens of private and government research organizations, including Gartner G2, comScore and Jupiter Research, attributes the projected increase in online sales to several factors. It cites a growing number of online buyers, including 62 million expected to buy online in the fourth quarter; the growing tendency of shoppers to make a larger portion of their purchases on the web; and an estimate that 3 million people will make their first purchase online this holiday season, as more young people who grew up with the Internet have access to credit cards and as older shoppers become more comfortable with buying online.
Cohen warned, however, that online retailers will have to deal with a short online holiday selling season this year due to a later-than-usual Thanksgiving holiday. The online holiday season will run from Nov. 29, the day after Thanksgiving, to about Dec. 20, a date that leaves just enough time for delivery of an online purchase. "The shorter number of days makes it incumbent upon Internet retailers to drive sales through aggressive marketing, such as online promotions prior to Thanksgiving, and improved customer service," he said.
Back...
