Analysts at Forrester Research are now expecting a 12 percent
increase in e-commerce spending this year compared to last year, for
total sales of $44 billion. The growth may be double digits, but it’s
just over half as much growth as the year before, when e-commerce
spending grew by 20 percent from the previous year.
Most retailers would be very please with at 12 percent growth
rate, but e-commerce spending has been growing rapidly every year as more and more shoppers discover the easy of shopping online without traffic, waiting in line or worrying that they might find what they are looking for. Online shoppers are also feeling more comfortable with the idea of sending their
credit-card information over the internet.
Forrester’s survey found that the migration of shoppers to online retailers will continue, but the broader economic issues we are facing will have
an effect on how much they spend.
Forrester
analyst Sucharita Mulpuru says, “While e-commerce has traditionally been resistant to negative offline
trends, growing concerns about the stability of the economy are finally
affecting consumers’ online shopping decisions.”