The New York Times reports that online commerce is entering a Dot Calm era. "The slowdown is the result of several forces. Sales on the Internet are expected to reach $116 billion this year, or 5 percent of all retail sales, making it harder to maintain the same high growth rates. At the same time, consumers seem to be experiencing Internet fatigue and are changing their buying habits."What's causing the slowdown?
- market for online sales is reaching maturity
- retailers have upgraded their in-store shopping experience (e.g. Apple Store, Niketown, Starbucks) and customers are hungry for these experiences
- cross-channel integration has evolved and increasingly shoppers may order online and pick up their purchases in-store (e.g. Best Buy)
Need for concern? Is this the end of online commerce? The answer is a big "NO". Internet commerce is still growing at a pace that traditional merchants would envy. Online sales have grown exponentially in the past 10 years but online sales are now forecast to grow 11% this year vs. 40% last year.
No matter how you slice and dice the numbers, its clearly a wake-up call to marketers and digital agencies alike - it is time to evolve (online) customer experience once again.
David Feldt
Strategists & Planners
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