Weak economy pushing down growth rate for online holiday sales

Published by Professor Les October 22nd, 2008 in Customer Service, Public Relations, Current Events. Tags: ATG, e tailing group, eMarketer, online holiday retail sales forecast for 2008, online holiday sales, online sales and weak economy, salt lake city and the selective echo, the selective echo blog.

Unlike previous years when online sales grew annually by between 20 and 25 percent during the holiday season, this year’s growth rate should be more on the order of just barely over 10 percent, according to an eMarketer forecast. Excluding travel, online sales should top the $32-billion mark.

Noting that experienced online buyers are continuing to shift a greater portion of their retail spending to the Internet, eMarketer forecasters say, “More than ever, they will turn to the Internet to get gift ideas, find bargains and locate retailers that stock desired products. Shoppers will shift a larger share of their purchases from stores to the Internet to save gas money and avail themselves of retailers’ free shipping offers.”

The spending shift from stores to Web sites is expected to continue this holiday season, according to a recent survey sponsored by ATG and conducted by the e-tailing group. This year 49 percent of holiday gift spending among US Internet users will occur online, compared with 44 percent in stores—making this the first time the Web has surpassed the store as the preferred channel for Internet users to purchase holiday gifts.

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