According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. e-commerce sees double-digit growth! For the past three years, U.S. e-commerce retail sales have grown 15% or more!:
- 15.8% increase to $225.54 billion in 2012
- 15.2% increase to $194.69 billion in 2011
- 16.3% increase to $168.96 billion in 2010
According to YCharts, traditional retail sales has seen more modest growth in the past years:
- 4.43% growth in 2012
- 6.64% growth in 2011
- More data is available with a YCharts subscription
Forrester Research, a marketing research company predicts that U.S. online retail sales will reach $327 billion in 2016, $370 billion by 2017.
Why does this news or data matter to small businesses or entrepreneurs? Here are some things this data hints:
- For sure, it confirms the growth of e-commerce for the past few years; more money is being spent online and it appears to be growing
- It also hints at the idea that more business transactions could be moving online
- It is likely that customers are shopping online more than they used to
- If customers are getting the things they need and want online, they are also probably shopping less in physical (brick and mortar) stores
This creates a problem but it also creates an opportunity at the same time. With data like this, it is time to look into e-commerce, if your business isn’t already taking advantage of it.
