Business
eMarketer on online retail
eMarketer projects Q4 consumer spending online will reach $17.8 billion, its highest growth rate since e-commerce went mainstream in the 2000 season.
eMarketer projects Q4 consumer spending online will reach $17.8 billion, its highest growth rate since e-commerce went mainstream in the 2000 season.
- US online retail sales (not including travel) will reach $55.0 billion in 2003, rising to $72.6 billion in 2004 (eMarketer)
- 81.2 million Americans will buy online in 2003, rising to 86.5 million in 2004 (eMarketer)
- The percentage of US online retailers reporting positive operating margins climbed from 56% in 2001 to 70% in 2002 (shop.org/Forrester Research)
- Top online department stores among US Internet users in terms of traffic include amazon.com (42.79%), walmart.com (9.12%), Target (7.48%), JC Penney (5.43%) and sears.com (4.98%) (Hitwise)
- US retailers' leading reasons for investing in IT include reducing costs (23.4%), improving processes (20.7%) and increasing profits (19.3%) (Geotronics)
- 31% of North American retailers expect their companies' IT spending to remain flat in 2004, 30% expect a 1% to 5% increase, 29% expect an increase of at least 5%, and only 11% expect a decrease (RIS News/Gartner)