To follow-up on my latest post, here is some fresh information from eMarketer.com whose latest article is on “Holidays season eCommerce projections” in the US.
Even though the holiday season sales are expected to slow down in the US, TNS Retail Forward predicts that:
“[...] online sales would be the bright spot for retailing, bringing in nearly $42 billion in the fourth quarter of 2007, up from $35 billion in the fourth quarter of 2006.”
With Christmas around the corner, retailers should be gearing up to take advantage of the biggest seasonal buying rush of the year.
Here are a few statistics from the US Census Bureau on eCommerce during the fourth quarter of 2006. This gives an idea of the sales potential during the holiday season:
I’ve conducted an eCommerce study based on a list of 110 major retailers in Canada (not including food retailers) that I found in a Kubas Consultant study on “Retail Market Status”.
I’ve narrowed the list down to 104 retailers because some retailers belong to the same company and/or have the same website.
The purpose of this analysis was to evaluate the options Canadian consumers have when they want to buy online.
The University of Michigan introduced the “American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI)” in 1994, a methodology that measures Customer Satisfaction and Purchasing Intent which are both invaluable metrics for multi-channel retailers. The ACSI has become the leading indicator of consumer behavior, measuring the satisfaction of consumers across the U.S. economy
eCommerce is the fastest growing retail channel in North America as buying on the Internet is becoming more and more appealing to consumers. However, not all customers feel comfortable buying online compared to physically buying in traditional stores.
A study from Allurent, an eCommerce platform provider who released a Merchandising Survey in September 2006 gives us some insight into the buying habits of online customers in the US.
