Online Shopping Predicted To Pull In $370 Billion In 2017

By now, it’s not even necessary to state that online shopping is popular. It’s common knowledge. The idea that one can jump on the internet in order to make a purchase isn’t so strange, by today’s standards. In fact, it’s practically become the norm, and therefore, it’s an expected service from merchants all over the world. And it isn’t entirely accurate to state that online shopping is just popular. It grows in popularity each and every year!

As reported by Jiafeng Li on iAcquire.com, “online shopping is predicted to grow continuously to $370 billion in 2017.” Discussing the findings of a 2013 Forrester Research study, Li notes that American retailers earned $231 billion in 2012. Predictions based on the findings of the survey all agree that online shopping is a trend that will continue to expand throughout the world in the years to come.

Who is doing all of the online shopping? Li reports that an Experian Simmons study found that 65.7% of online shoppers are made up of people who are aged between 25 and 54. Females make up the small majority of those shoppers at 59.1 percent. Online shoppers are also found to have average annual household incomes above $50,000 while 77.9 percent of them have post-secondary school educations.

What are the most popular items that are purchased online? As you’re likely aware, there is no shortage to the number of goods that you can buy via online shopping. However, Li points out that a ComScore study found that the top performing online categories were “Digital Content & Subscriptions, Consumer Electronics, Flowers, Greetings & Gifts, Computer Hardware and Apparel & Accessories.”

How important is social media in promoting online shopping? With social media playing such large roles in the ways that people communicate with each other nowadays, it stands to reason that all businesses should utilize social media platforms to promote their online stores. Word spreads fast via the Facebooks, Twitters and LinkedIns of the world. And businesses throughout the world are making great use of this fact.

“Generally Social media requires low investment but has high returns!” states Li, “As an internet retailer, if you don’t already have the social media platforms, you should start it today! As retailers begin to see the ROI potential of social media, it is likely that the channel’s growth will follow the same pattern as organic search.”

What most influences customers to make purchases from your site? Apparently, it’s the site itself. “Website design is as important to online stores as interior design to physical stores,” informs Li, “42% of online shoppers strongly agree that ‘the website layout can make a difference in whether I shop here’.” This makes evident that keeping your website updated is an integral part of business success in the modern era.

At Canadian POS Corporation, we offer an effective e-commerce solution so that Canadian merchants can take advantage of the growing trend of online shopping. With our secure e-commerce solution, our clients are able to easily and safely accept and process all credit cards, including Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express from their websites!

For more information, call Canadian POS Corporation at 1-877-748-2884 or email us at info@localhost.