Retail industry sales for 2014 are projected to increase 4.1%, up from the preliminary 3.7% growth seen in 2013. According to a new economic forecast from the National Retail Federation (NRF), online sales in 2014 are expected to grow between 9 and 12%. The housing sector is expected to continue to improve in 2014, and stronger household and business confidence should spur more consumer spending overall.
Tag: online retail
Online Retailers Focusing on Site Search
Online sites are proving to be a solid sales tool for pure-play operators and those who sell across multiple channels. Surviving as an online retailer these days means optimizing the website, integrating the site with mobile, and tweaking digital marketing strategies like email and social media. SLI Systems’ new survey shows that online sellers plan to enhance their e-commerce platforms in 2014 and will pay extra attention to site search.
Desktop-Based e-commerce Sales on the Rise
Desktop-based e-commerce sales totaled $49.8 billion in the U.S. during the second quarter of this year. According to a new report from comScore, this represents an almost 16% increase from about $43.1 billion in the second quarter of 2012. E-commerce accounted for nearly ten percent (9.6%) of consumers’ discretionary spending, the highest second quarter share on record.
Retail E-Commerce Growing as Consumers Shift to Online Channel
U.S. online spending hit $37.5 billion in the second quarter of this year, up 14% from the same quarter in 2010, reports comScore. The Internet marketing research company said the growth rate represents the seventh consecutive quarter of positive year-over-year growth and third consecutive quarter of double-digit growth rates. Analysts say the third quarter will be an important indicator of which direction this economy is really headed.
Online Retailers to Increase Social Media Experiments
Online marketers that sell exclusively via the Internet may have good reason to spend more on social media than traditional marketers. After all, maintaining a strong online presence where customers are shopping should increase sales. But a newly released survey shows that pure-play online marketers lag when it comes to social network advertising. This year these retailers say they’re still in an experimentation mode with social media.
Online Retailers Invest in Mobile Marketing, Paid Search; Social Media – Not So Much
With retail sales still coming in at the low end of forecasts, online vendors are looking for any edge to beat the competition. For many of these businesses, the key to sales increases includes mobile applications and paid search. The recently published State of Retailing Online: Marketing, Social Commerce and Mobile Report released by Forrester Research and Shop.org contains insights about how these businesses are spending their marketing budgets.
E-Retailers Can Save Sales With Timely, Personalized E-Mails
One of the easiest ways to save an online sale is to send a reminder to a shopper who has abandoned a cart when there is still merchandise in the cart waiting to be checked out. Yet barely 10% of the Internet Retailer Top 500 online retailers give shoppers the chance to retrieve an abandoned shopping cart, according to a test by e-mail marketing company Listrak.
