Forrester Research reveals that e-commerce sales are booming – growing 22% from $141 billion in 2004, reported DMNews.com (Forrester: E-Commerce Sales in Multichannel World Surged 22% to $172B in 2005).

If Forrester’s projections come true, this growth will continue to boom with current sales doubling by 2009. Forrester projects:

·         $198 billion in 2006

·         $228 billion in 2007

·         $258 billion in 2008

·         $288 billion in 2009.

·         $316 billion in 2009  (13 percent of projected overall retail sales)

This growth is no doubt fueled by the ease-of-use and relaxing concerns about the potential for fraud. An estimated 40% of the U.S. population is now doing some form of online shopping. Forrester also claims that consumer use of the Internet as a research tool influences more than $100 billion in annual offline sales.

The average income of online shoppers – in the low $60,000s – is still higher than offline shoppers, but it fell from the mid-$80,000s just a couple of years ago, she said.

The research however does reveal that a majority of consumers still prefer face-to-face shopping (83% of shoppers) and are the most satisfied with in-store service and the least satisfied with customer service over the telephone.

ANALYSIS:

Do invest in e-commerce opportunities, but not at the expense of in-person and traditional forms of sales and service.