| E-tail Breakout |
1 December 2003
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Is This the Holiday Season On-Line Retail Has Been Awaiting?
The Friday after Thanksgiving is the busiest shopping day of the year in the US. The very idea of hitting the malls in pursuit of those perfect gifts so soon is barbaric; the act itself is an abomination. However, the on-line retail business has tried to position itself as the solution to the shopping nightmare that only ends on December 25. This year a healthier economy and better internet business practices may make this the break-through year.
The last time the holiday season brought anybody in retail any joy was 1999. For on-line retailers, though, that was the year of the glitch. It was understandable because it was really their first attempt at something approaching heavy volume, and they discovered that they had some bugs to work out. In 2000, 2001 and 2002, spending on the holidays just didn't measure up.
This year, some experts predict a 3-5% increase over last year for the bricks-and-mortar outlets, but e-tailers are looking at 20-20% increases. This would put the market segment at the far side of $10 billion in holiday sales. People are not just buying books and records, they have moved on to jewelry and refrigerators. And the free shipping many e-tailers are offering this year helps.
There will probably never be a day when virtual shopping replaces the real thing. There is no substitute for looking at a product, holding it, asking questions of a knowledgeable salesperson (they don't seem to exist anymore, though), and deciding to buy it or look at the shop a few feet away. However, the one way in which e-tail does score is when it comes to buying rather than shopping. If one knows what one wants and can quickly arrange for its arrival with minimum aggravation, e-tail will continue to outpace real store sales.
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