Cyber Monday is expected to be one of the shopping season’s biggest catalysts for the growth anticipated in eCommerce this month.
This morning, Forrester projetced $78.7 billion in US online sales this holiday season (including mobile and tablet sales), which amounts to double-digit growth rates for the third year in a row with a 15% increase over 2012’s $68.4 billion in sales.
This year, the report continues, 167 million shoppers will go to the Web to do their holiday shopping, spending an average of $472 for the season.
“Strong economic growth and low unemployment rates project a healthy playing field for online holiday sales and outweigh any lingering dampening effect of the government shutdown,” says Analyst Sucharita Mulpuru.
In a recent Forrester survey of US online adults, 50% said they would consider buying from an online retailer that they had never bought from before if it offered the lowest shipping cost or free shipping, while 42% said the best deal offers would sway this decision.
“But with consumers now expecting them, discounts alone won’t be enough to guarantee the results that retailers are looking for,” Mulpuru concludes.
As such, the most successful online retailers this holiday season will be those that use mobile to their advantage, capitalize on email lists to attract repeat shoppers, and, above all else, ensure that execution is flawless, Forrester claims.
