In 2020, ecommerce accounted for 75% of the gains in total retail sales in the U.S. This is mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic that accelerated shifts in consumer shopping behavior.
Merchants experienced tremendous growth rates in online commerce. For many merchants, the holiday season is where the make most of their money. During the holiday season quarter (Q4/2020), customers spent 32.1% more online with U.S. merchants than during the same quarter in 2019. All over, ecommerce reached $245.28 billion in Q4/2020, up from $185.70 billion from the year ago quarter. This means that more than $1 in every $5 spent on retail purchases came from online orders.
Ecommerce share has been growing steadily for many years, as shoppers get increasingly comfortable purchasing online. Businesses started to adapt their ecommerce operations and deliver goods and services more quickly and efficiently. COVID-19 has amplified this trend even more in 2020.
Comparing the year over year growth of ecommerce with the total retail sales paints an even more stronger picture:
2020 by U.S. Ecommerce Numbers
– Ecommerce reached $791.70 billion in 2020, up 32.4% from $598.02 billion in 2019.
– Online penetration is now at 19.6%, up from 15.8% in 2019.
– Additional $105.47 billion in ecommerce revenue in 2020.
– 74.6% of the gains is due to ecommerce
The bottom line
If you haven’t already, invest in ecommerce and digital services. This sector provides the most opportunities to grow your business. However, there’s no proverbial silver bullet available for your business. You need to have an omnichannel approach:
Mobile Touchpoints
Your customers are on their smartphones all the time. You have to establish a presence on their homescreen with your mobile App.
User Experience
A pleasant shopping experience is of paramount importance, especially on mobile. Offer customers comfortable payment methods like Apple or Google Pay so that they easily buy your goods or services.
Self Checkout
Get rid of waiting lines in your shop and offer your customers a seamless checkout experience. This is perfect example how to blend online with offline for a better customer experience.
Automation
Implement recovery reminders or personalized post-purchase messages. Every message that you send increases the probablity that the customer will make a purchasement.
A/B Testing
You never really know until you tried. A/B testing on your website, newsletter and your mobile App is a must. It’s the only way to learn and to get first data.
Voice
Voice is a very attractive channel to engage with your customers. Implement simple and useful services for Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant.
Stay on top of the latest developments with the IKANGAI newsletter App.
Photo by Negative Space from Pexels
Source: https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/article/quarterly-online-sales/
