With an unstable economy and the biggest holiday shopping season of the year upon us, many consumers are expected to stay at home, using their computers and wireless devices to do their holiday shopping. More people are expected to shop online this holiday season to do comparison shopping, take advantage of free shipping, and search for gifts using search engines instead of driving from store to store.
Total online shopping sales in the United States is expected to reach $44 billion this year, a 12 percent increase from last year, according to the Forrester Research Online Holiday Retail Forecast 2008 report.
Twelve percent is not a huge increase compared to previous years, but considering the economic conditions, retailers will be happy with any increase. Offline holiday shopping sales are expected to increase only 2.2 percent from 2007, according to the National Retail Federation’s September 2008 report.
Bricks and Mortar vs E-Commerce
As holiday shoppers become more comfortable with using online e-commerce systems — and more savvy with technology — they are also getting comfortable with the advantages and perks of shopping online.
While some shoppers will not break away from their traditional shopping — fighting the crowds for the hottest gadgets and newest toys and smelling, touching and holding that perfect gift — others are using their fingertips to find the best deals.
Free shipping has always lured online shoppers, and this year will be no different. More than 50 percent of online holiday buyers and 33 percent of overall online users said that getting free shipping will motivate them to buy more online during the holidays, according to Forrester’s report. As a result, free shipping offers are expected to become ubiquitous among retailers and will not be a differentiator for retail competitors.
Forrester suggests that retailers use other differentiators, such as…