By Jim Clanin
The newest forecast from eMarketer for US retail ecommerce and mcommerce sales this holiday season, has just been released. According to the report, US ecommerce is estimated to generate $262.3 billion in sales, an increase of 16.2% over last year. eMarketer estimates that, by 2017, there will be $440 billion in sales, for a compound annual growth rate of 13.8%.
Amazon and eBay are leading the charge. Amazon’s sales grew by 34.5% by 2012, and by 27.8% during the first half of this year. Recent reports indicate that the online retailer’s sales show no sign of slowing. And during the second quarter, eBay’s mobile commerce grew over 90%.
How Will Holiday Sales Affect the Growth?
In its recent report, eMarketer estimates that ecommerce sales over the holiday season will increase by 15.1%. Sales are expected to generate $61.8 billion during November and December, which represents nearly a quarter of total ecommerce sales in the US.
That might seem like a big number, but it’s close to the same growth rate as last year. Furthermore, it represents a slight downward trend of ecommerce sales during the holiday season accounting for less of the yearly total.
Sales Growth: Ecommerce Versus Mcommerce
Meanwhile, the eMarketer report expects mobile commerce, or mcommerce, to increase by a whopping 68%. It’s estimated that $41.68 billion will be generated by mcommerce, out of a total @262.3 billion in ecommerce sales. If the trend continues, mcommerce will exceed $100 billion by 2017, which is a compound annual growth rate of 28%.
Source: eMarketer September 2013
If ecommerce is growing steadily, mcommerce is having a major growth spurt. It’s clear that more and more people are doing their purchasing via the web, and more and more are using their smartphone or tablet to do it.
Don’t miss out on the trend; now is the time to talk with an ecommerce developer to be sure your ecommerce website design is optimized for the many platforms on which your customers are visiting.
