Just when all signs were pointing towards continued slowing of the economy, a bright spot has emerged. Online sales were up in the first quarter of 2009, according to research conducted by Forrester and Shop.org.
Highlights include:
- 11% increase in online retail sales in Q1 2009.
- Nearly 60% of companies surveyed reported increases over the same quarter last year.
- Increases of 10% or more were reported by 44% of e-tailers.
- 14% of e-tailers reported increases of up to 10%.
- 13% of E-tailers reported flat sales.
- Online sales increases were reported by approximately 70% of consumer brand manufacturers and multi-channel retailers.
- The only dark spot was that 60% of web-only merchants reported sales declines.
Overall, US retail e-commerce sales are expected to grow to $141 billion in 2009, a 4.4% increase. 2010 is projected to see a 16.5% increase, according to Citi Investments Research.
