According to a new report, US consumers are expected to increase their spending at online retail shops by more than 50% by 2009, driven by growth in luxury goods and clothes sales.
<p>The new retail e-commerce report, from eMarketer, states that US consumers have become so comfortable shopping online that they will increase their spending at online retail shops from $877 per consumer in 2005 to $1,512 per consumer by 2009 – an increase of more than 50%. <br /><br />The report shows that, although the average annual growth rate of retail e-commerce sales will slow from the 26% seen between 2001 and 2005, it will remain robust at 18.6% from 2006 to 2009. <br /><br />The retail sector of computer hardware and software is on the cusp of becoming the first category to derive a majority of its sales online, 54.5% by 2010, according to eMarketer calculations. But the categories of jewelry/luxury goods and health and beauty are making the deepest inroads into total sales, with online purchases expected to about double their percentage of total category sales by 2010. <br /><br />Apparel, perhaps more than any other category, demonstrates the maturity of online sales and the comfort level of consumers. Apparel e-commerce as a percentage of total retail sales is expected to climb from 5.9% in 2005 to 11.4% by 2010, as specialized niche sites, high-end e-tailers and attention-grabbing technology converge to bring consumers online to buy clothes. <br /><br />Online shoppers, who have faster online connections and more internet experience, are venturing beyond the safe purchase categories of books, videos and toys that marked the first e-commerce success stories, wrote eMarketer senior analyst Jeffrey Grau in the report.</p>