The US online economy continues to perform well, with retail e-commerce sales for the first quarter of 2005 totalling $19.8 billion, up from $15.49 billion in quarter one 2004, according to new figures from the US Department of Commerce.
This strong growth is attributed by analyst eMarketer to an increasing trend for consumers to shift their spending from stores to retailers’ websites as they become more confident internet users.
eMarketer senior analyst, Jeffrey Grau added: “Internet merchants are creating more satisfying online shopping experiences, leading to higher sales.”
Online shopping is predicted to increase in popularity, with eMarketer estimating the medium to rise by 22.1% year on year, reaching a total of $84.5 billion by the end of 2005 and a massive $139 billion by 2008.
According to the Commerce Department estimates, online sales accounted for 2.2% of all retail sales in the US during the first quarter of this year. This figure is low because the overall estimates include categories that generate little or no online sales, such as motor vehicles and parts, food and beverages, and gasoline.
These findings for the first quarter of 2005 are more optimistic than a report published at the beginning of the year by eMarketer, revealing that customer satisfaction with online retail supplies had fallen, despite a healthy rise in internet shopping over Christmas 2004 (see Online Consumers Satisfaction Drops).
In the UK, online shopping customers are leading Europe in terms of shopping habits, with over a quarter of UK consumers spending more than £1000 online during 2004, according to research released in January by global research agency, Millward Brown (see UK Leads Europe In Online Spending).
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