10.03.07
E-commerce will influence offline sales
Retail E-Commerce (US) Eyes Retention – An interview with Mr. Scott Silverman, executive director of Washington-based online retail lobby Shop.org
Mr. Silverman’s Highlights
1) E-commerce in 2007 will be more than 9% of total retail, which is up from less than 3% in 2001. Additionally, the Internet continues to influence sales in offline channels, strengthening traditional store brands as well as catalogers.
2) People are feeling more comfortable shopping online and using the Internet to research, compare prices and shop.
3) No matter how much retailers preach the safety of shopping online, there will continue to be a segment of the customer base that does not feel comfortable using a credit card to pay for online purchases. Retailers are responding by investing in alternative payment systems like Bill Me Later, PayPal and Google Checkout.
4) Retailers on- and offline are certainly feeling the impact of the customer empowerment created by social media (think myspace, think facebook, think friendster).
5) One of the interesting findings in the Shop.org-Forrester Research “2007 State of Retailing Online Part 2″ report, released in September, is that e-mails emphasizing new products outperform e-mails promoting sales.
6) Enhanced product detail, whether it’s through customer reviews, rich Internet applications or other methods. Customers see the Internet as a source of information and retailers need to meet this expectation.
Grab the full interview here
http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?id=1005442
Missnana said,
February 19, 2008 at 9:18 pm
Hello there,
Would you know where I can find information (i.e.) metrics on the influence of blogs and forums on big industry ( fashion, government affairs, consumer electronics, etc?) . I havent had much luck finding any metrics.
Many thanks in advance!