Online retail to grow in U.S. in next 5 years

Bangalore: Online retail in the U.S. will grow by 10 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in the next five years, says a report by Forrester Research. The industry will be worth nearly $249 billion by 2014. Likewise, in the European countries, online retail will grow at a rate of 11 percent CAGR.

"Much of the overall retail sector's growth in both the U.S. and the EU over the next five years will come from the Internet," said Forrester Research Vice President and Principal Analyst Sucharita Mulpuru. "To maximize that growth, eBusiness professionals will have to help enable a multichannel strategy that responds to consumers' increased desire to hop between the offline and online worlds and their increasing mobile and social behaviors. The retail innovators over the next five years will demonstrate customer enablement across all touchpoints, not just via a PC-based Web browser."

Do you think Americans are Workaholics?

	Yes
	No

   View result

Despite consumers' increasing use of the Web to research products before purchasing, most retailers fall short on offering a seamless cross-channel experience. According to Forrester's data, while 82 percent of U.S .online consumers are satisfied with buying experiences that began and ended in a store, satisfaction drops to 61 percent for consumers who began their research online and purchased in a store. By 2014, 53 percent of total retail sales in the U.S. will be influenced by eCommerce as consumers increasingly use the Internet to research products before purchasing. Also, the increased online tenure, improved access, and greater promotion by retailers will drive the number of online shoppers in Europe from 141 million in 2009 to 190 million by 2014.

"There is a clear divide between the countries of Northern and Southern Europe regarding online retail adoption," said Forrester Research Vice President and Research Director Patti Freeman Evans. "While nearly half of UK residents regularly make a purchase online, a mere 10 percent of online Spaniards and 11 percent of online Italians do so today. Still, with compound annual growth rates approaching 20 percent in markets like Spain, emerging European eCommerce markets are poised for a vigorous period of growth."