When it comes to ecommerce, a lot of the professionals rely on the trends to determine what is going to be successful. Many people do not look at this, but it might be important depending on what type of business you are getting into online. Below are simply some interesting trends that may impact your business. Generally, ecommerce, despite the economy is still a good business decision when done properly.
Fact #1: Ecommerce is continuing to grow rapidly
Source: http://usa.usembassy.de/economy-ecommerce.htm
While the sales have slowed down in recent years, the industry of ecommerce in general is still thriving. There will likely still be growth this year. Since 2001, there has been an average of roughly 25 percent increase each year. This number is expected to lower this year but I doubt that it will be in the negative.
Fact #2: There are continuing to be more internet users each year
Source: http://www.impactlab.com/2008/04/09/will-the-economy-affect-e-commerce/
It really is to no ones surprise that there are more internet users now than there was back in 2000. In fact, the internet usage for North Americans has seen an 132.5% increase since then. So basically, it is safe to assume that this number is not going to go down anytime soon. It is probably safe to consider that those who used the internet the last several years will not quit now and the younger generation is growing up and utilizing technology as well.
Fact #3: The Age is lowering, but will rise again
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_internet_usage
Source: http://www.december.com/web/text/tutor/netuse.html
This is probably one of the more interesting statistics that would relate to ecommerce. It is generally stated that no one from the older generation uses the internet. However, this is a common misconception according to this trend. Generally, the average age for internet users has become lower. However, you may be shocked to know that as of 2000, the beginning of the internet burst of users, the average age of an internet user was 41 years old with an income of $65,000. This is likely because they had more access to computers. However, this number has lowered to an age of 29.78. The reason for this is the younger generation seems to love technology in general. They have really caught onto the internet and use it for a lot of their communication. This will continue and the average age number is expected to grow as the generation of internet users gets older. You will also find this number increasing as more businesses begin to do business online as well. Generally though, this number is probably not as low as some may expect. The average internet user is very capable of making purchases online. This is good news for ecommerce.
Fact #4: More purchases are being made online each year
Source: http://www.census.gov/mrts/www/data/html/08Q4.html
According to statistics, people are continuing to buy more online each year than they had previously. Often times, we are finding that even common items are being purchased online. For example, in some cities you can now buy your groceries via a website. This means that as people make that transition, there is more and more money being transacted over the internet. Overall, businesses are growing in terms of how many sales they do online in comparison to how many are being done in the store. This is a good indication that people are buying more of their products online instead of in retail stores. There is no suggestion that this will slow down anytime soon.
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