2010 Ecommerce Year in Review: One Hell of a Ride
www.volusion.com onlinebusiness.volusion.com
facebook.com/volusion twitter.com/volusion youtube.com/volusion
Takeaway #1: Recession? What Recession? Consumers Increase Spending Takeaway #2: Price, Discounts and Promotions Dominate the Purchasing Process Takeaway #3: Social Goes Bonkers, Becomes Legitimate Business Outlet Takeaway #4: Mobile Matters, But Not as Much as We Thought Takeaway #5: Ecommerce Becomes a Force to Be Reckoned With
Takeaway #1: Recession? What recession? Consumers increase spending. Contrary to initial belief, customers were willing to purchase more goods, especially online. 2010 saw the fastest growth in ecommerce history, thanks to increased confidence and familiarity with online shopping.
2010 began with fears of poor consumer confidence and lackluster spending:
“Another major factor in the recovery process is consumer confidence. Unfortunately, it is trending downward.” – Senior VP, BB&T
“We expect the savings rate to rise, dampening consumer spending.” – Global Economic Forum Team, Morgan Stanley
“Consumers have learned they can get by with less, and that’s what they’re going to do for some time. “ – News Editor, CNBC
We were wrong. Consumer confidence was steadily higher than in 2009.
We were VERY wrong: Consumer spending increased all year long.
Takeaway #2: Price, discounts and promotions dominate the purchasing process. Coupons, discounts and promotions had a huge impact on ecommerce in 2010. Free shipping was by far the most popular, and price-conscious shoppers now expect discounts on all their purchases.
The bad news about increased sales? Customers only bought things with a discount.
Consider this: 57% of consumers who used a coupon code during their last online purchase said that if they had not received the discount, they would not have bought the item(s). - Compete
And this: 35% of online shoppers say they use comparison shopping engines when looking for products online. - Compete
Eight out of 10 U.S. adults plan to continue using coupons even if economic conditions improve. - Harris Interactive
Is there a silver lining to increased coupon redemptions online?
You be the judge: The average order value was $216 for shoppers who used a coupon, compared to only $122 for those who didn’t use a coupon. - Compete
How about these apples? 91% of customers who used a coupon said they would make another purchase from that online store, as opposed to 86% of shoppers without a coupon.
- Compete
Adults with a household income of more than $100,000 are twice as likely to have redeemed coupons from an online source than adults with household incomes of less than $35,000. This means that online shoppers using coupons have much more money to spend.
- Internet Retailer
Takeaway #3: Social goes bonkers, becomes legitimate business outlet. 2010 showed us that relationship-building, along with reviews and recommendations, are the new form of online marketing for ecommerce sites. No more one-way marketing messages, it’s all about listening now.
Facebook passes 500 million users, Twitter adds 100 million in 2010.
Nearly half of all Americans are now members of at least one social network, double the proportion of just two years ago. - MediaPost
“The ROI of social media is that your business will still exist in five years.� - Erik Qualman, Clickz
Chew on these profitable tid-bits: High product ratings will increase likelihood of purchase for 55% of consumers.
- eConsultancy
51% of active Twitter users follow companies, brands or products on social networks.
- Social Media Today
Takeaway #4: Mobile matters, but not as much as we thought. Penetration of smartphones was impressive, as more and more consumers turned to their mobile devices for product research. But growth in direct purchases from mobile was less than expected.
Mobile commerce didn’t live up to its hype, at least not yet: Foundation laid in 2010:
19% of US smartphone users have purchased music on their phones, 14% have bought books, DVDs or games, while 12% have purchased movie tickets. - Compete
27% of all consumers used their mobile devices to browse and research products at least four times over a 12 month period. For the 18-34 age group, this figure is 41%. - ATG
74% of online retailers either have in place or are developing an m-commerce strategic plan, while 20% have fully implemented their plans. - Forrester
Takeaway #5: Ecommerce becomes a force to be reckoned with. Online sales grew at a breakneck pace, steal share from retail, and substantially outpace retail sales in 2010.
Online sales grew compared to 2009.
Online sales made gains on retail in 2010.
Online sales grew faster in 2010. Quarterly Sales Revenue Growth Compared to 2009 Ecommerce
Retail
Q1 2010
+14.3%
+6.3%
Q2 2010
+14.0%
+7.5%
Q3 2010
+13.6%
+6.0%
Q4 2010*
+15.4%
+5.5%
*Q4 Data Based on Holiday Estimates from SpendingPulse Q1-Q3 Data Courtesy: United States Census
Main Ecommerce Takeaway for 2010: It was one hell of a ride. See you in 2011! Open your own online business with the trusted leader in ecommerce:
www.volusion.com