Online Shopping Trends

The reduced price of going online coupled with growing confidence in online web stores have rocketed online sales numbers over the past few years. Each year, online sales trends hit a new high. It seems the consensus is,online shopping is here to stay.

According to the US Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce, online retail sales accounted for 1.9 percent of the total retail sales in the fourth quarter of 2003, representing more than $17.2 billion in revenues. This was up to 25% by 2004. It doesn't stop there. Forrester Research noted that online Christmas shopping alone accounted for $13.8 billion in revenues in 2006. Globally, online sales generated revenues of $747.6 billion for the year 2006, representing 14.8 percent increase over the previous year and 23.1 percent of the total retail sales for the year.

It has long been a belief that people want to actually see, touch and feel something before buying it. But with the growing availability of comparison shopping websites or services that provide product ratings, consumers are leaning more and more towards online investigation to make sure that they get the right product for the best possible price. In fact, a survey conducted by Pricegrabbers.com in March 2008 shows that 81% of the respondents used the internet as their primary source of research for both products and retailers when it came to shopping for home furniture and appliances. It appears a similar survey in 2006 confirms these figures when it comes to purchasing large products.

The comfort levels for shopping online has been boosted by the discounts offered by retailers, including improving after-sales backup and offers on home delivery of products. Confidence in online shopping has been further boosted by major companies that have now launched online versions of their brick and mortar stores, where people can find the same quality and pricing without the problem and expense of driving all the way to the store and fighting through the masses shopping for the same products.

If you still need proof that the world is moving towards online retail in a big way, consider this:

According to The UK Office for National Statistics online shopping in the nation is likely to continue its upward trend, accounting for £162 billion in revenues by 2020 and representing 40% of total retail sales.

In short, the online shopping train has taken off and there is no stopping it now. If you want to get on board, feel free to give us a call on 0845 0574320