Online Shopping Thrives as Product Research Moves Online

A recent on-line article published by eMarketer reveals statistics that seem to demonstrate that normal market patterns will transpire over the next few years for on-line shopping, with the percentage of Internet users that shop on-line leveling out at about 80%. According to current data, the plateau has already started to make itself felt, with the estimated percentage of shopping Internet users above 14 years of age hitting 80% in 2011, compared with an estimated 78.5% in 20071.

That said, the overall figures suggest the number of on-line shopper in the US alone will rise from 133.1 million this year to 155.7 million in 20111.

Nevertheless, the eMarketer article suggests that the trend will assist traditional retailing giants in their already reasonably successful attempts to leverage on-line channels to strengthen both store based and on-line sales.

Apparently, increasing numbers of shoppers – regardless of whether they buy on-line or in store – are doing their product research on-line. Although shopping on-line based on paper catalogues is on the increase, the habit of browsing on-line and then buying in-store is apparently the most predominant trend.

Large traditional retailers are developing large, sophisticated, rich-media capable on-line sites to preserve customer confidence, and according to eMarketer, they are succeeding.

Accordingly, says eMarketer, with the stakes raised in terms of on-line quality of service, the trend is towards full service on-line marketing and technology solutions, as opposed to ‘patching together crude IT solutions’, even if the former approach is more expensive.

References and Further Reading

1. eMarketer. "Where Are All the Online Shoppers Going?"  2007. eMarketer - eMarker Inc. 17th May 2007 2007. <http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?id=1004909&src=article1_newsltr>