60 Percent of U.S. Retail Sales Will Involve the Web by 2017
Sixty percent of all U.S. retail sales will involve the Internet by 2017, either as a direct e-commerce transaction or as an element of shoppers’ research on a laptop or mobile device, according to Forrester Research. Within five years, about 10.3 percent of those sales will be online purchases, or $370 billion in Web sales versus $3.6 trillion in total retail sales, according to the study. In comparison, U.S. Commerce Department numbers estimate that just 5.2 percent of total U.S. retail spending was online in 2012, while Forrester says 46 percent were either transacted directly or influenced by Internet research on PCs, smartphones, and tablets. Forrester’s Sucharita Mulpuru says the growth in e-commerce is being driven by the increasing ubiquity of smartphone ownership in the U.S., coupled with retailers’ investments in enabling e-commerce and mobile apps. Forrester projects that grocery, clothing and accessories, home improvement, and consumer electronics will be the categories most influenced by Web research by 2017, collectively comprising $1.1 trillion of the $1.8 trillion in total anticipated Web-influenced retail sales.
From “60 Percent of U.S. Retail Sales Will Involve the Web by 2017”
Internet Retailer (10/30/13) Dusto, Amy