Forrester Research expects $115.6 bln will be spent for travel online in the US alone in 2009, and that number is expected to jump to $157.8 bln by 2013.
63 mln US households to pay bills online by 2014
The number of US households paying bills online will grow from 48 mln in 2008 to 63 mln by 2014, according to Forrester Research. The 5.4% compound annual growth rate reflects a maturing market where growth rates will shrink in the years ahead.
3 bln person-to-person financial transactions in 2008
US noncash person-to-person market in 2008 was $1.1 trln in over 3 bln transactions. Checks are in decline, but they remain the most significant person-to-person payment method, amounting to over $1 trln of the noncash P2P payments volume. In 2008, checks represented over $1.013 trln of the noncash P2P payments in the United States and cost financial institutions what TowerGroup estimates as $255 mln to process.
Fastest-growing Retail E-Commerce Categories in 2008
| Retail Category | YTY Percent Change | |
| Video Games, Consoles & Accessories | 29% | |
| Home, Garden & Furniture | 25% | |
| Sport & Fitness | 25% | |
| Event Tickets | 13% | |
| Consumer Electronics | 9% | |
| Apparel & Accessories | 4% | |
| Computer Hardware | -5% | |
| Toys & Hobbies | -7% | |
| Books & Magazines | -8% | |
| Flowers, Greetings & Gifts | -10% | |
| Office Supplies | -10% | |
| Jewelry & Watches | -12% | |
| Computer Software (excl. PC Games) | -18% | |
| Music, Movies & Video | -23% | |
| Source: comScore | ||
Traffic Growth to Top Retailer Sites in December 2008
| 2007 | 2008 | Percent Change | |
| Total Internet | 171,113 | 179,997 | 5% |
| eBay | 88,894 | 85,442 | -4% |
| Amazon Sites | 70,975 | 76,240 | 7% |
| Wal-Mart | 49,632 | 51,546 | 4% |
| Target Corporation | 47,338 | 46,837 | -1% |
| Apple Inc. | 29,450 | 35,017 | 19% |
| Best Buy Sites | 28,602 | 28,555 | 0% |
| JCPenney Sites | 21,329 | 18,918 | -11% |
| Toysrus Sites | 19,817 | 18,075 | -9% |
| Sears.com | 18,010 | 18,413 | 2% |
| Circuit City Stores, Inc. | 19,466 | 15,456 | -21% |
| Overstock.com | 18,911 | 15,951 | -16% |
| AmericanGreetings Property | 17,273 | 14,666 | -15% |
| Hewlett Packard | 15,217 | 19,425 | 28% |
| Dell | 17,279 | 14,305 | -17% |
| Macy’s Inc. | 15,715 | 15,868 | 1% |
| Source: comScore | |||
63% of online shoppers indicated that it was important to have multiple reviews for each product
| Factor | % of Respondents | |
| The product has multiple ratings or reviews | 63 | |
| The rating or review comes from an established source | 14 | |
| The rating or review comes from someone I know | 3 | |
| Other | 2 | |
| Source: Nielsen | ||
Reasons to visit retailer Web site before going to offline store
| Reason | % of Respondents | |
| Wanted to compare prices between different retailers whose stores I might shop | 33 | |
| Wanted to see if the product I was looking for was in stock | 28 | |
| Wanted to find sales in the store | 26 | |
| Wanted to come up with holiday gift ideas before I went shopping | 22 | |
| I ordered online for in-store pickup | 12 | |
| Source: Nielsen | ||
Top 10 Online Spending Days of 2008 Holiday Season
| Day | Dollars Spent, mln. | |
| Tuesday, December 9 | $887 | |
| Monday, December 15 | $859 | |
| Monday, December 1 (Cyber Monday) | $846 | |
| Tuesday, December 2 | $823 | |
| Wednesday, December 10 | $803 | |
| Wednesday, December 17 | $799 | |
| Monday, December 8 | $787 | |
| Thursday, December 18 | $764 | |
| Tuesday, December 16 | $754 | |
| Wednesday, December 3 | $734 | |
| Source: comScore | ||
Growth in Dollar Sales of Retail E-Commerce Categories Since Cyber Monday, 2008
| Retail Category | Growth | |
| Sport & Fitness | 31% | |
| Books & Magazines | 18% | |
| Video Games, Consoles & Accessories | 17% | |
| Apparel & Accessories | 15% | |
| Flowers, Greetings & Gifts | 13% | |
| Computer Hardware | -3% | |
| Computer Software (Excl. PC Games) | -6% | |
| Toys | -7% | |
| Consumer Electronics | -9% | |
| Event Tickets | -13% | |
| Home, Garden & Furniture | -16% | |
| Jewelry & Watches | -17% | |
| Office Supplies | -19% | |
| Music, Movies & Videos | -24% | |
| Source: comScore | ||
Online Holiday Consumer Spending, 2008
| 2007 | 2008 | Pct Change | |
| January – October | $93,551 | $102,144 | 9% |
| comScore Holiday Season Forecast (Nov-Dec) | $29,169 | $29,200 | 0% |
| November 27 (Thanksgiving Day) | $273 | $288 | 6% |
| November 28 (Black Friday) | $531 | $534 | 1% |
| December 1 (Cyber Monday) | $733 | $846 | 15% |
| Source: comScore | |||