US consumers will buy more online than ever before this year, experts predicted this week,despite today’s Black Friday shop sales bonanza and amid prominent criticism of “un-green” internet
shopping, generating millions of additional shipments for the country’s express and parcel deliverycompanies in the peak holiday season.The strong e-commerce growth forecasts came as Americans queued up for cut-price offers at mallsand shopping centres today, traditionally the biggest shopping day of the year as retailers launchChristmas sales after the Thanksgiving Day holiday.
The digital data measurement company comScore predicted that US e-commerce retail sales willgrow by 17% to $43.4 billion during the November-December holiday season this year compared to 15%growth in the same two-month period last year. This would put it far ahead of the expected 4.1%increase in overall US retail sales this holiday season.
Online shopping in the USA already increased 16% to $10.1 billion over the first 18 days ofNovember, comScore said. Over the first eight months of 2012, US online spending increased 16%year-on-year to reach $143.9 billion.
“The 2012 online holiday shopping season is off to an encouraging start with a 16% growth thusfar,” said comScore chairman, Gian Fulgoni. “Recent 5-year highs in consumer confidence and earlyretailer promotions appear to be serving as wind in the sails for the beginning portion of theholiday season, with consumers opening up their wallets early and often. This spending growth alsoreflects the continuing channel shift to online as consumers increasingly opt for the attractivepricing, convenience and product selection it offers.”
Key online shopping trends this year will be more social commerce, more shopping by mobiledevices and ‘showrooming’, where consumers visit physical shops to see products but then buy themonline for price reasons, he believes.
In 2011, the US e-commerce retail market (excluding travel) grew 14% to $162 billion, accordingto the company. The sector has shown growth rates of between 12% and 17% for every quarter sinceQ1, 2011, with slightly higher growth rates this year than last year.
Earlier this month, comScore presented details of Q3, 2012 US e-commerce trends, showing thatthe 194 million online buyers in the USA made 2.4 online transactions on average during thequarter, spending $90 per order on average and $217 in total. Sales of consumer electronics grewvery strongly, especially mobile phones (+27%), as well as fashion while there was also stronggrowth of over 10% for packaged goods.
Examining the controversial issue of ‘free shipping’, comScore said that the percentage oftransactions involving free shipping hit an all-time high of 52% in Q4, 2011, as e-retailers triedto win customers with free shipping offers. The proportion was 43% free versus 57% paid-for in Q3,2012.
The bullish forecasts came as one of the largest traditional retailers in the USA launched asharply-worded attack on the environmental impact of “un-green” online shopping. Jerry Storch, CEOof Toys R Us, the children’s toys retailers, claimed that buying online generated a large CO2footprint. “People are just so enraptured with how cool it is that they can order anything and getit brought to their home that they aren’t thinking about the carbon footprint of all that. But thatwill change,” he told the Financial Times.
According to the newspaper, however, there is no clear academic agreement on whether more CO2emissions are generated by online goods delivered to homes or by goods bought in physicalstores.
