2010 Ecommerce Year in Review: One Hell of a Ride onlinebusiness.volusion.co

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Takeaway #1: Recession? What Recession? Consumers Increase Spending

Takeaway #2: Price, Discounts and Promotions Dominate the Purchasing Process

Takeaway #3: Social Goes Bonkers, Becomes Legitimate Business Outlet

Takeaway #4: Mobile Matters, But Not as Much as We Thought

Takeaway #5: Ecommerce Becomes a Force to Be Reckoned With

Recession? What recession? Consumers increase spending.

Takeaway #1:

Contrary to initial belief, customers were willing to purchase more goods, especially online. 2010 saw the fastest growth in ecommerce history, thanks to increased confidence and familiarity with online shopping.

2010 began with fears of poor consumer confidence

and lackluster spending:

“Another major factor in the recovery process is consumer confidence. Unfortunately, it is trending downward.” – Senior VP, BB&T

“We expect the savings rate to rise, dampening consumer spending.”

– Global Economic Forum Team, Morgan Stanley

“Consumers have learned they can get by with less, and that’s what they’re going to do for some time. “ – News Editor, CNBC

We were wrong. Consumer confidence was steadily higher than in 2009.

We were VERY wrong: Consumer spending increased all year long.

Price, discounts and promotions dominate the purchasing process.

Takeaway #2:

Coupons, discounts and promotions had a huge impact on ecommerce in 2010. Free shipping was by far the most popular, and price-conscious shoppers now expect discounts on all their purchases.

The bad news about increased sales? Customers only bought things with a discount.

57% of consumers who used a coupon code during their last online purchase said that if they had not received the discount, they would not have bought the item(s).

- Compete

Consider this:

35% of online shoppers say they use comparison shopping engines when looking for products online. - Compete

Eight out of 10 U.S. adults plan to continue using coupons even if economic conditions improve.

- Harris Interactive

And this:

Is there a silver lining to increased coupon redemptions online?

The average order value was $216 for shoppers who used a coupon, compared to only $122 for those who didn’t use a coupon. - Compete

You be the judge:

91% of customers who used a coupon said they would make another purchase from that online store, as opposed to 86% of shoppers without a coupon. - Compete

Adults with a household income of more than $100,000 are twice as likely to have redeemed

coupons from an online source than adults with household incomes of less than $35,000. This means that online shoppers using coupons have much more

money to spend. - Internet Retailer

How about these apples?

Social goes bonkers, becomes legitimate business outlet.

Takeaway #3:

2010 showed us that relationship-building, along with reviews and recommendations, are the new form of online marketing for ecommerce sites. No more one-way marketing messages, it’s all about listening now.

Facebook passes 500 million users, Twitter adds 100 million in 2010.

Nearly half of all Americans are now members of at least one social network, double the proportion of just two years ago. - MediaPost

“The ROI of social media is that your business will still exist in five

years.”- Erik Qualman, Clickz

Chew on these profitable tid-bits: High product ratings will increase likelihood of purchase for 55% of consumers.- eConsultancy

51% of active Twitter users follow companies, brands or products on social

networks.- Social Media Today

Mobile matters, but not as much as we thought.

Takeaway #4:

Penetration of smartphones was impressive, as more and more consumers turned to their mobile devices for product research. But growth in direct purchases from mobile was less than expected.

Mobile commerce didn’t live up to its hype, at least not yet:

27% of all consumers used their mobile devices to browse and research products at least four

times over a 12 month period. For the 18-34 age group, this figure is

41%. - ATG

19% of US smartphone users have purchased music on their phones, 14% have bought books, DVDs or games, while 12% have purchased movie tickets. - Compete

74% of online retailers either have in place or are developing an m-commerce strategic plan, while 20% have fully implemented their plans. - Forrester

Foundation laid in 2010:

Ecommerce becomes a force to be reckoned with.

Takeaway #5:

Online sales grew at a breakneck pace, steal share from retail, and substantially outpace retail sales in 2010.

Online sales grew compared to 2009.

Online sales made gains on retail in 2010.

Ecommerce Retail

Q1 2010 +14.3% +6.3%

Q2 2010 +14.0% +7.5%

Q3 2010 +13.6% +6.0%

Q4 2010* +15.4% +5.5%

*Q4 Data Based on Holiday Estimates from SpendingPulseQ1-Q3 Data Courtesy: United States Census

Quarterly Sales Revenue Growth Compared to 2009

Online sales grew faster in 2010.

It was one hell of a ride. See you in 2011!

Main Ecommerce Takeaway for 2010:

Open your own online business with the trusted leader in ecommerce:

www.volusion.com