Retail E-Commerce Forecast: Cautious Optimism

US retail e-commerce sales (excluding travel) will total $132 billion in 2009, down 0.4% from 2008. Assuming the recession ends this year, as many economists predict, eMarketer forecasts online sales will begin to rebound in 2010 and hit full stride in 2011. The Retail E-Commerce Forecast report tracks the trends that will influence online sales in the near and far future. Web research has become a priority for value shoppers in today’s recession. Currently 86% of Internet users are online shoppers-they browse, research and compare products on the Internet, but do not necessarily buy online. As a result, though often ignored, store sales influenced by online research are three times higher than e-commerce sales. Even so, many consumers opt to buy online for convenience, price and broad product selection. Over 80% of online shoppers are also online buyers. Source: ResearchandMarkets.com