Ecommerce News: 2011 Ecommerce Sales, Ecommerce in India & SEO Tips
by Elana Birnbaum - February 14th, 2012 2:25 pm
Ecommerce Hits New Record High of $161.5 Billion in 2011 Sales
After 9 consecutive quarters of growth and 5 quarters of double-digit growth, Ecommerce sales have reached an all-time high in the fourth quarter of 2011. Retail Ecommerce stores were resoundingly successful over the holiday season, and according to a new study by comScore, these results are indicative of a larger trend for Ecommerce in 2011. Total spending in online retail stores soared to $161.5 billion in 2011, a 13% increase in growth from the year before. Q4 2011 spending also increased by 14%, suggesting that 2011 has been a very profitable year for Ecommerce vendors.
For more information on the remarkable growth in Ecommerce spending in 2011, see VatorNews, “Ecommerce Hits Record $161.5B in 2011”
Tablet Computers Influencing Ecommerce Design and Marketing
Tablet computers have soared in popularity in 2011, and 2012 is shaping up to drive even more Tablet sales. With the growing popularity of tablet computers, Ecommerce designers and marketers are reinventing their strategies to appeal to online shoppers using these devices. Site features, content, advertising, and design are all being reevaluated in 2012 to keep pace with the nearly 67 million tablets sold in 2011. To accommodate the tactile nature of the tablet, designers may begin to design websites with larger fonts and navigation buttons or by delivering new features such as a 360 degree vantage points of products for online shoppers.
As reported in, “4 Ways Tablets Could Affect Ecommerce Design, Marketing”
Will Technology be Key to Retail Success in 2012?
While retail sales seemed dismal in 2011 during the holiday season, vendors with a multi-faceted Ecommerce strategy had many reasons to rejoice. According to Christine Bardwell, IDC Retail Insights research manager, “The companies that are going bust are the ones that haven’t kept up with the latest multi-channel retailing.” She states that convenience is essential for creating a user-friendly online store, and retailers should focus on click-and-collect offers or return in store options. With the integration of online stores with brick and mortar businesses, Ecommerce retailers will need to keep pace with the rapidly changing convenience-based technologies and innovations in 2012.
To learn more about using multi-channel strategy in Ecommerce, see “Why Technology will be Key to Retail Survival in 2012.”
Competition Heats up for Ecommerce Vendors in India
Some of the top Ecommerce vendors in India are stepping up their strategies by “engaging in increasingly intense competition.” In India, consumer preferences, Ecommerce solutions, and online business models are still in early development. With one online store in India projecting $1 billion in annual revenues by 2014, a considerable increase from their current $100 million in revenue as of this year, the stakes have never been higher in India and across the globe to gain a competitive advantage and secure a significant percentage of valuable market share.
“Ecommerce Battles Heats up in India,” outlines the strategies of several India Ecommerce stores as they attempt to grow their businesses.
Optimizing Ecommerce Sites for Search: Essential for Online Retail Success
While most retail companies expand their offerings to include an all-encompassing Ecommerce platform, many are now focusing on an optimization strategy that will bring them to the top of the search engines. By optimizing navigation bars and filters, providing an in-site search box, and employing basic search engine optimization on Ecommerce sites, store owners will be able to attract more organic traffic and improve the online shopping experience for customers. Since almost 60% of online sales are the result of a related search query, Ecommerce stores must utilize the latest optimization techniques to drive their products to the top of the search engines.
Mashable, “3 Ways to Optimize Search on Your Ecommerce Site” examines the importance of an effective Ecommerce optimization strategy.
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