Small Retailers Worry As Online Retailers Are Poised For Profits This Holiday Season
Nov/04/2009 07:58 Filed in: Small
Retailer
As many small retailers
cut back on inventory levels and holiday staffing in
efforts to avoid the massive discounts needed last
holiday season, online retail is bringing in more
sales. What's standing between online and small
retailers? Maybe it's a little innovation.
According to Forrester's State of Online Retail 2009Profitability, Economy and Multichannel," 42% of the online retailers surveyed say they increased their conversion rates during the first half of 2009, compared to the same period of 2008, to an average of 3.4%. And beyond that, half of online retailers say sales should be better than for 2009, following an average growth rate of 18% in 2008 web sales over 2007. The National Retail Federation found that 80% of online retailers predict growth this quarter.
Those numbers are even more optimistic considering the state of general retail leading up to the quintessential holiday shopping season, where there is a predicted 1% drop in retail sales this holiday season.
U.S. shoppers on average rate e-commerce shopping more highly than at traditional retailers, according to the University of Michigan American Consumer Satisfaction Index. And online retailers are increasingly conscious of new ways to improve their business.
According to eMarketer, 57% of web retailers have a Facebook page or advertise there. 41% are on YouTube, 28.6% on MySpace and 20.4% on Twitter. In all, almost three-quarters of the merchants in the company's Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide have a presence on at least one of the major social networks or social shopping sites.
That's not saying there's a direct correlation between a social media presence and sales, but if offline retailers were spending more time getting where their customers are — and listening to what they want and care about — they might also be increasing sales this season instead of cutting back on inventory.
To contact Solutions For Retailers, call 520-305-9693
Visit www.retailstoreclosing.com for information on Store Closing Sales and Going Out of Business Sales
According to Forrester's State of Online Retail 2009Profitability, Economy and Multichannel," 42% of the online retailers surveyed say they increased their conversion rates during the first half of 2009, compared to the same period of 2008, to an average of 3.4%. And beyond that, half of online retailers say sales should be better than for 2009, following an average growth rate of 18% in 2008 web sales over 2007. The National Retail Federation found that 80% of online retailers predict growth this quarter.
Those numbers are even more optimistic considering the state of general retail leading up to the quintessential holiday shopping season, where there is a predicted 1% drop in retail sales this holiday season.
U.S. shoppers on average rate e-commerce shopping more highly than at traditional retailers, according to the University of Michigan American Consumer Satisfaction Index. And online retailers are increasingly conscious of new ways to improve their business.
According to eMarketer, 57% of web retailers have a Facebook page or advertise there. 41% are on YouTube, 28.6% on MySpace and 20.4% on Twitter. In all, almost three-quarters of the merchants in the company's Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide have a presence on at least one of the major social networks or social shopping sites.
That's not saying there's a direct correlation between a social media presence and sales, but if offline retailers were spending more time getting where their customers are — and listening to what they want and care about — they might also be increasing sales this season instead of cutting back on inventory.
To contact Solutions For Retailers, call 520-305-9693
Visit www.retailstoreclosing.com for information on Store Closing Sales and Going Out of Business Sales