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 | |||
Top Online Product Categories for 2008 Holiday Season
| Product Category | Y/Y Percent Change | |
| Sport & Fitness | 18% | |
| Video Games, Consoles & Accessories | 14% | |
| Apparel & Accessories | 4% | |
| Books & Magazines | -1% | |
| Consumer Electronics | -5% | |
| Flowers, Greetings & Gifts | -7% | |
| Toys | -7% | |
| Computer Hardware | -8% | |
| Home, Garden & Furniture | -14% | |
| Event Tickets | -18% | |
| Jewelry & Watches | -24% | |
| Computer Software (Excl. PC Games) | -24% | |
| Office Supplies | -30% | |
| Music, Movies & Videos | -32% | |
| Source: comScore | ||
24% of online shoppers have spent more than $500 in 2008 holiday season
| Amount | % of Respondents |
| Less than $100 | 18 |
| $100-199 | 22 |
| $200-299 | 17 |
| $30-399 | 13 |
| $400-499 | 5 |
| More than $500 | 24 |
| Source: Nielsen | |
Top 5 Reasons to Shop at a Particular Web Site
| Reason | % of Respondents | |
| I went to the retailer I have purchased from in the past | 62 | |
| I found the retailer through search engines | 38 | |
| I received a catalog in the mail from the retailer | 31 | |
| I came across an email promotion from the retailer | 25 | |
| I subscribe to e-newsletters from retailers | 25 | |
| Source: Nielsen | ||
US e-commerce to reach $156 bln in 2009
US online retail sales are expected to rise 11% to $156 bln in 2009, excluding revenue from travel. However, that will mark a slowdown in the overall growth rate, which was 13% in 2008, when online retail sales totaled $141 bln, Forrester Research says.
35% of Americans bought gift cards in 2008
Continued convenience and a clearer understanding of usage terms are expected to increase sales of gift cards by nearly $14 bln over the next five years, according to Packaged Facts. Gift cards, which lead the closed-loop segment of the $81 bln prepaid card market, have been gaining credit since 2002. Then, gift cards were categorized in the catch-all “other” category of in-store payments. In 2003, however, they became their own line item on the survey, accounting for 2% of all sales, a number that doubled in 2005. Nearly 35% of consumers who purchased gift cards in the last 12 months anticipate spending more on gift cards during the next 12 months, with 9.1% expecting to spend “significantly more.”
Online consumer spending in 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 | |||
Fastest-growing Web categories in November 2008
| Oct-08 | Nov-08 | % Change | ||
| Total Internet : Total Audience | 190,616 | 190,775 | 0 | |
| Coupons | 27,101 | 35,649 | 32 | |
| Retail – Jewelry/Luxury Goods/Accessories | 15,362 | 19,210 | 25 | |
| Retail – Toys | 25,195 | 31,296 | 24 | |
| Retail – Mall | 30,742 | 37,002 | 20 | |
| Retail – Department Stores | 66,441 | 79,933 | 20 | |
| Retail – Consumer Electronics | 47,788 | 55,786 | 17 | |
| Retail – Home Furnishings | 39,852 | 44,965 | 13 | |
| Retail – Music | 18,812 | 21,023 | 12 | |
| Online Gambling | 14,588 | 16,132 | 11 | |
| Retail – Food | 17,309 | 19,049 | 10 | |
| Source: comScore | ||||
Fastest-growing product categories on Cyber Monday 2008
| Categories | Unique Audience Growth from 11/24/2008 to 12/01/2008 |
|||
| Beauty | 151% | |||
| Toys/Videogames | 112% | |||
| Apparel | 58% | |||
| Consumer Electronics | 49% | |||
| Computer Hardware/Software | 44% | |||
| Home and Garden | 40% | |||
| Books/Music/Video | 22% | |||
| Flowers and Gifts | 21% | |||
| Shoes | 13% | |||
| Retail | 11% | |||
| Shopping Comparison/Portals | -12% | |||
| Jewelry | N/A | |||
| TOTAL | 14% | |||
| Source: Nielsen | ||||
Cyber Monday top online retail destinations by audience
| Site | 11/26/2007 UA (000) | 12/01/2008 UA (000) | Percent Growth | |
| eBay | 10,799 | 10,564 | -2% | |
| Amazon | 7,225 | 8,998 | 25% | |
| Wal-Mart Stores | 5,165 | 5,189 | 0% | |
| Target | 3,393 | 3,646 | 7% | |
| Best Buy | 2,363 | 3,558 | 51% | |
| Sears | 1,698 | 2,680 | 58% | |
| Dell | 2,673 | 2,369 | -11% | |
| Overstock.com | 2,154 | 2,070 | -4% | |
| Netflix | 1,442 | 2,046 | 42% | |
| ToysRUs | 1,386 | 1,652 | 19% | |
| Source: Nielsen | ||||
Top 10 DVDs in 2008
| Rank | Title | Distributor | Release Date | |
| 1 | Iron Man | Paramount Home Entertainment | 9/30/08 | |
| 2 | I Am Legend | Warner Home Video | 3/18/08 | |
| 3 | Alvin and the Chipmunks | Twentieth Century Fox Home Ent | 4/1/08 | |
| 4 | Enchanted | Disney/Buena Vista Home Video | 3/18/08 | |
| 5 | National Treasure 2 : Book of Secrets | Disney/Buena Vista Home Video | 5/20/08 | |
| 6 | Wall-E | Disney/Buena Vista Home Video | 11/18/08 | |
| 7 | Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull | Paramount Home Entertainment | 10/14/08 | |
| 8 | Sex and the City – The Movie | Warner Home Video | 9/23/08 | |
| 9 | Bee Movie | Paramount Home Entertainment | 3/11/08 | |
| 10 | American Gangster | Universal Home Entertainment | 2/19/08 | |
| Source: Nielsen | ||||
Top goods sold in retail stores in 2008
| Rank | Category | Dollars Sold (in Billions) |
||
| 1 | Bread and Baked Goods | $18.3 | ||
| 2 | Carbonated Beverages | $18.2 | ||
| 3 | Fresh Produce | $16.5 | ||
| 4 | Milk, Cream, Eggnog, Shakes & Drinks | $16.3 | ||
| 5 | Paper Products | $14.8 | ||
| 6 | Snacks | $14.6 | ||
| 7 | Packaged Meat-Refrigerated | $13.2 | ||
| 8 | Cheese | $13.1 | ||
| 9 | Prepared Foods-Frozen | $11.3 | ||
| 10 | Pet Food | $10.9 | ||
| Source: Nielsen | ||||
Where online shoppers live in the US
| Rank | Market | % of Adults who spent $500 + online the past year |
||
| 1 | Washington, D.C. DMA | 39 | ||
| 2 | San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose DMA | 35 | ||
| 3 | Seattle/Tacoma DMA | 34 | ||
| 4 | Honolulu DMA | 33 | ||
| 5 | Phoenix DMA | 32 | ||
| 6 | Boston DMA | 32 | ||
| 7 | San Diego DMA | 32 | ||
| 8 | Austin DMA | 31 | ||
| 9 | Baltimore DMA | 31 | ||
| 10 | Denver DMA | 31 | ||
| National Average | 25 | |||
| Source: Nielsen | ||||
Top-selling fiction books in 2008
| Rank | Title | Author | Format | Publisher | Publication Date |
| 1 | The Shack | William P. Young | Trade Paperback | Hachette Book Group | 7/1/2008 |
| 2 | The Appeal | John Grisham | Hardcover | Random House | 1/1/2008 |
| 3 | The Host | Stephenie Meyer | Hardcover | Hachette Book Group | 5/1/2008 |
| 4 | The Friday NightKnitting Club | Kate Jacobs | Trade Paperback | Penguin Books | 1/1/2008 |
| 5 | Water for Elephants | Sara Gruen | Trade Paperback | Workman Publishing | 5/1/2007 |
| 6 | The Kite Runner | Khaled Hosseini | Trade Paperback | Penguin Books | 1/1/2003 |
| 7 | Playing for Pizza | John Grisham | Mass Market Paperback | Random House | 7/1/2008 |
| 8 | Fearless Fourteen | Janet Evanovich | Hardcover | MacMillan | 6/1/2008 |
| 9 | The Lucky One | Nicholas Sparks | Hardcover | Hachette Book Group | 9/1/2008 |
| 9 | 7th Heaven | James Patterson | Hardcover | Hachette Book Group | 2/1/2008 |
| Source: Nielsen | |||||
Top-selling books in 2008
| Rank | Title | Author | Format | Publisher | Publication Date |
| 1 | A New Earth | Eckhart Tolle | Trade Paperback | Penguin Books | 2/1/2008 |
| 2 | The Last Lecture | Randy Pausch | Hardcover | Hyperion | 4/1/2008 |
| 3 | Eat Pray Love | Elizabeth Gilbert | Trade Paperback | Penguin Books | 2/1/2007 |
| 4 | Three Cups of Tea | Greg Mortenson | Trade Paperback | Penguin Books | 2/1/2007 |
| 5 | The Secret | Rhonda Byrne | Hardcover | Simon & Schuster | 11/1/2006 |
| 6 | Eat This Not That! | David Zinczenko | Trade Paperback | MacMillan | 1/1/2008 |
| 7 | The Audacity of Hope | Barack Obama | Trade Paperback | Random House | 11/1/2007 |
| 8 | Skinny Bitch | Kim Barnouin | Trade Paperback | Pereus Books | 1/1/2006 |
| 9 | Dreams from My Father | Barack Obama | Trade Paperback | Random House | 8/1/2004 |
| 10 | The Power of Now | Eckhart Tolle | Trade Paperback | PGW TR | 8/1/2004 |
| Source: Nielsen | |||||
15% of music sold worldwide in 2007 was digital
In 2007, online music distribution represented about 23% of revenue in the US, and about 15% worldwide. As a percentage of total revenue in the US market, physical media (CDs, LPs, DVD-A and so on) have gone from 91% of revenue in 2005 to 77% in 2007. There is also evidence that physical retailers are even reducing the physical floor space dedicated to CDs. Enabling the transition away from retail music CDs toward online distribution is now in sight, given that 77% of U.S. households (a total of 96 mln connections) will have broadband connections by 2012, Gartner reports.