DropShipping News

Holiday e-Commerce Seen Only Rising 12%

01 Sep 2008

A new holiday shopping forecast reinforces fears that the economic downturn will sap some consumer spending online. But higher gas prices could help keep the e-commerce growth engine chugging, just not by as much this year.

Analysts at Forrester Research are now expecting a 12 percent increase in e-commerce spending this year compared to last year, for total sales of $44 billion. The growth may be double digits, but it's just over half as much growth as the year before, when e-commerce spending grew by 20 percent from the previous year.

Traditional retailers would salivate over a double-digit growth rate. But e-commerce spending has been accelerating at a faster clip as more shoppers discover the delights of shopping without fighting traffic or waiting in line, and warm up to the idea of sending their credit-card information into the ether.

Forrester's survey found that the migration of shoppers to the online channel will continue, but the broader economic woes will have an effect on how much they spend.