Web to drive holiday retail sales

It may not be happy holidays for the retail industry overall. But the Web should provide one bit of good cheer.

Retail sales will probably be flat this holiday season, but online sales are expected to reach $44.7 billion, an 8 percent jump over last year, according to the latest data from Forrester Research.

Among 4,000 online consumers surveyed, 94 percent have made a purchase online in the past three months and plan to do the same for the holidays. As for retailers, 72 percent of those questioned for the third-quarter Forrester report "The State of Retailing Online," said they expect holiday sales to increase over last year.

But to cope with the down economy, online stores will try to weigh customer demand against the need to boost profits, says the Forrester report "US Online Holiday Retail Forecast, 2009," released Monday.

"Despite the lingering effects of the recession, the online space remains the retail industry's growth engine," said Sucharita Mulpuru, Forrester Research vice president and principal analyst, in a statement. "What's different this holiday from past years is that online retailers will manage to the bottom line, which will change some of the tactics they have employed in the past."

Retailers on the Web will offer sales and discounts as always, but of a more limited time and quantity. Automatic free shipping may be jettisoned in favor of free shipping only above certain price levels, says Forrester.

To drive business, online sellers may also take advantage of new trends. More detailed product information will be available, as will social networking tools that let customers share purchasing advice with friends and family.

"Tighter offline inventories may benefit the online channel as consumers go to the Web looking for products--and prices--they can't find in stores this holiday," said Mulpuru. "Online retailers will be ready for them with a special focus this year on engagement and service."

[solitare_pax]

Here's why online shopping works: Service. If you go into a Big Box Store looking for anything exotic, like the newest video game, you waste your time hiking through the endless aisles, as associates scurry away like cockroaches, or look like deer in the headlights when you ask them where the video games are. And half the time, the game can't be had! In the meantime, they're trying to get you to buy other crap, like nutlogs & underwear.

At least shopping online gets you the game (or whatever) and if its not in stock, you can get them to ship it as soon as it is in stock.

[Been_there_Saw_it_before]

Shopping on the web, let me see now...
No driving,
No parking problems,
No crowds,
No standing in line,
Free shipping for most items (or groups of items) over $25,
Delivered to my door,
Ability to compare several sellers by clicking between different web sites,
Banks offer risk-free credit card use,
Some banks offer warranty service, and, best of all,
I can do my shopping when and how it want to, which is frequently at midnight in my PJs.

[nauj_solrac]

So, there really are people out there who don't like to engage in human interaction by acting like barbarians and neanderthals at all the malls across America during the holiday rush?, lol.

[MSenska]

Exactly. I know if Amazon has the item I want. I have a plug-in for Firefox that automatically compares the price (Invisible Hand) to places like Best Buy. In the rare case Best Buy has the lowest price, I'll head over there.

Sites like Amazon also have feedback. Is the product a piece of crap? Does it work great? Well, now you can make an even more educated purchase. I never would have bought an HDMI cable for $1.00 unless there was 1500+ reviews saying they worked. If I actually have questions about how it operates, half the time the kid at Best Buy doesn't know anyway. Its not his fault, he can't buy everything in the store (even less if he works at a place like Staples, which offers almost no discount). So I hit forums.

My only exception to this is Costco. I'll still price check Costco (and spec-check when it is a Costco specific model), but that is mostly because they offer an extra year warranty on TVs and computers, and other stuff has their generous return policy. Teamed up with my AMEX, I bought a TV over the summer with 3 years of warranty for less than what Best Buy wanted for a similar model with one less HDMI and a standard one-year. If I buy a keyboard/mouse combo at Best Buy and it doesn't work like I want it to, they probably try and charge me a fee to return it. I buy it at Costco, and they just ask if I want cash or it back on my card.

[zz2009]

not good for buying clothes

[dataJONBOY]

i will probably be looking to by a roomba on cyber monday, i find most electronics are 1/2 to 1/3 off then.
i hope this trend continues this year.

[theusblues]

Whenever i'd go into a local store, the prices are always way higher than if you buy the same thing online. I hate to admit it, but sometimes i'll go to the store, check out a product, and then buy it from Amazon and save 25-50% .. Especially for electronics and video games... Plus with all of the sites online that help you save money, its just too easy.. For shopping this christmas, I made a list of the gifts i'm buying for my family at www.ZingSale.com, and now i get an email when any of them go on sale.

[keepntabs]

I shop almost exclusively online, but there are there still quite a few people how will shop in stores, and for good reasons. They are very tactile, and want to have a personal hands-on examination of an item. Also, depending on what you purchase the hassle of returning it may not be worth the initial savings. Many online stores will accept returns if the buyer pays the return shipping, and often they will deduct their cost of shipping it to you; even with free shipping promos. The cost of shipping has risen dramatically just like, and you could easily spend more than what the item cost in shipping.