Online shopping is possibly at it’s peak this month. Millions of people are celebrating Christmas this week. Retailers are expecting huge sales both in shops and online. But the full details and facts about online sales won’t be available until early next year. Millions of people prefer to shop online instead of walking to shops directly to make purchases. Online shopping offers a lot of advantages for consumers: It is mostly faster, cheaper and more convenient and offers a wide range of products from hundreds of retailers. 2012 witnessed a massive increase in online purchases compared to 2011. Online shopping has become increasingly popular among consumers as millions of people are now turning to their smartphones and tablets to shop online. These are 16 online shopping facts you need to know as the year comes to an end.
1. The number of online shoppers in the U.S. is expected to grow from 137 million in 2010 to 175 million in 2016 according to eMarketer estimates.
2. In the second quarter of 2012, Amazon’s websites averaged 100.4 million unique visitors per month.
3. A study by PriceGrabber reveals that31 per cent of US customers have a shopping app on their smartphone. 82 per cent of these intend to use it for Christmas shopping. 70 per cent are particularly interested in coupon apps.
4. In 2012, studies show that 6 per cent of all customers intend to buy Christmas presents on their mobiles.
5. According to Forrester Research Inc., online shoppers in the United States will spend $327 billion in 2016, up 45% from $226 billion this year and 62% from $202 billion in 2011.
6. In a research by Lab42, 45% of online shoppers have bought something online that they would not buy in person.
8. PayPal expect to process $10 billion in mobile payment volume by the end of 2012.
9. 26% of online shoppers abandon online shopping baskets due to forced account registration-Econsultancy
10. 23% of grocery shoppers check prices online at multiple stores before going shopping .
11. According to Comsore, 42% of online shoppers abandon shopping carts because of delivery timing estimates.
12. Online credit card shopping volume increased by 35% between March 2011 and March 2012.-Free report
13. According to compete, Consumers conduct 11% of their online shopping on mobile devices.
14. On Cyber Monday more than 18 percent of consumers used a mobile device to visit a retailer’s site, an increase of more than 70 percent over 2011.-IBM
15. Facebook and Twitter accounted for over 70% of all social referrals that lead to online sales on Cyber Monday.
16. Overall 58.1 percent of consumers used smartphones compared to 41.9 percent who used tablets to surf for bargains on Cyber Monday.IBM