Morning all, here’s your ecommerce news roundup. I read the internet so you don’t have to!
eMarketer, a market research and trend analysis company, predicts that online retailers in the US will ring up over $100 billion more in sales in 2012 than they did in 2007. They predict that the sales growth will come mainly from consumers who are shifting their spending from traditional retail stores to the Internet.
Great news (and great kudos) for online retailers: The American Customer Satisfaction Index reports that while customer satisfaction in retail is down overall, it has increased for online shopping. As stated by Medill Reports, the sole bucker of the depressing slump is ecommerce, “an avenue that enjoyed its highest ever rating of 81.6, a 2 percent improvement from 2006 and the apex of its eight-year presence on the index.” The highest rated online retailer was Amazon.com, with Newegg and Netflix close behind.
“Basically, the theory being, as consumers are satisfied, they spend more,” said Larry Freed, president and CEO of ForeSee Results, an Ann Arbor company that measures online customer satisfaction in conjunction with the ACSI. “This is one of the best indicators of consumer spending.””
More good news from the UK: Ecommerce Topline Growth Continues, with electronics and clothing leading “led year-on-year growth of 75 per cent during January or the equivalent of £74 [being] spent online for every person in the UK.”
Also for UK designers: The Manufacturing Institute is providing a grant to SMES in areas of Northwest England to assist them to diversify online. This could be a great incentive for some of your customers to take the next step. More information is available online.
Got news? Email Shannon at Affiliates [at] jadedpixel [dot] com.