To: T L Comiskey who wrote (1186 ) 12/3/1998 12:31:00 PM From: Mohan Marette Respond to of 27722
e-Commerce outlook - Tim: Some articles appeared in CyberAtlas regarding the outlook for e-Commerce.Users Plan to Shop Online for Holidays Deloitte & Touche and the National Retail Federation included a section on Internet shopping in their 13th annual Mood Survey: Retail Holiday Outlook. Surprise: the study found that Internet shopping is growing in importance to consumers. Stores to Gain from Internet Many retail stores will benefit from the Internet during this holiday shopping season, according to Cyber Dialogue. While its research says some 6.7 million adults will purchase holiday items online this year, an even larger number, 9 million shoppers, will buy items offline, after first gathering information online. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Amex Makes Its Holiday Predictions American Express predicted that online holiday shopping by consumers will rise from 8 percent in 1997 to 10 percent this year in its fourth annual Retail Index on Holiday Shopping. The report, based on a national opinion survey of 800 consumers, also found that 69 percent of retailers believe it is too early to know the true retail potential of the Internet. Thirty percent, on the other hand, believe the Internet is already proving to be an important channel. Online Buyers to Double by Close of '99 Over the past year, 16.8 million Americans have purchased at least one product or service online, according to eMarketer. By year-end 1999, however, the number of online buyers will double to 36.1 million, or 16.6 percent of the U.S. population 14 and older. Computer Equipment Sales Still Growing Computer hardware and software remain among the most popular items purchased over the Internet according to research by Forrester. French E-Commerce Worth $50 Million E-commerce in France is expected to generate $50 million in revenue in 1998, according to a recent study. The study, by the Benchmark Group, found that 10 percent of French Internet users will make a purchase online by the end of the year. Online Retail to Pass $100 Million by 2003 Forrester Research Inc. has followed up its projection that consumers will spend $3.5 billion on online purchases in the fourth quarter of 1998 by predicting the value of online retail sales will increase to six percent within five years. Forrester predicts retail revenues totaling $108 billion in 2003. 81 Percent Plan to Shop Online A study by IntelliQuest Information Group of consumers' e-commerce activities and plans has found that 81 percent of those surveyed intend to shop or buy online in the next 12 months. Holiday Sales May Hit $2.3 Billion Shoppers are expected to spend $2.3 billion online during the 1998 holiday shopping season, up from $1.1 billion in 1997, according to research released by Jupiter Communications. Louis Harris & Associates Inc. reports that 43 percent of American computer users say they are likely to shop on the Internet this holiday season. Retailing Archives To read the articles in details go to:cyberatlas.internet.com