Last year I did one third of my christmas shopping online, this year I did 100% of my shopping online. I saved time and money and purchased items that I would have probably had to have seached through several stores to find, if I even found them at all.
It isn't only christmas that I am buying online. With the exception of food, if I need something the first place I look is the internet. This year, for example, I want to buy a new hot water heater. I don't want an old fashioned 30 gallon tank, I want a new, super efficient on demand gas unit. When I type in my search on the internet I find hundreds of reasonably priced units, when I go to Loews I find 2 or 3 overpriced units. It is not a hard choice, the internet wins by a landslide.
What I have come to conclude is in spite of the box stores rush to stock their shelves with 100,000's of items they are offering the customer little choice, overpriced merchandise, the inconvenience of driving and wading though aisles and aisle of merchandise that isn't exactly what I am looking for. The box stores are quickly becoming relics.
True, at this point the internet only accounts for 6% or 7% of total sales, however that segement is growing at 20% plus per year.
online shopping growth
A decade later, online sales growth is slowing but still outpacing overall retail. Total Internet sales in 2004 are expected to jump by more than 20 percent over last year, claiming roughly 6 or 7 percent of all retail in the United States, according to analysts. Regular retail sales are projected to grow closer to 5 percent. For both, the year-end holidays are crucial.
The latest Internet holiday sales forecast, released yesterday by ComScore Networks Inc., calls for consumers to spend more than $15 billion online in November and December, a jump of 23 percent to 26 percent over last year. Two other firms, JupiterResearch and Forrester Research, are forecasting Internet holiday sales to grow by 19 to 20 percent. A more bullish prediction of 29 percent growth comes from the online research firm eMarketer.
Last year, online holiday sales rose by 30 percent, ComScore reported, which means most analysts are predicting a slowdown this year -- in part because fewer new shoppers are coming online and also because of softness in the economy.
We have already seen many brick and mortar shops disappearing due to the internet. Travel Agents, Antique Store and Video retailers are quickly disappearing from the landscape. This year the internet appears to be eroding WalMarts bottom line as well. People are getting used to buying online and this will force brick and mortar store into even stiffer competition for the ever scacer $. There will be casualities.