NRF: Online retail sales to rise

The annual “State of Retailing Online” survey from the National Retail Federation (NRF) has been released, and it’s good news for online retailers.

The NRF is forecasting a 17% increase over last year’s online retail sales, to $204 billion, despite an overall drop in consumer spending. The main drivers of Internet sales are more than likely the gas price hikes, bargain hunting and, for some, the bad weather.

“What’s spearheading online retail sales growth is a tale of two shoppers that visit the web for very different reasons,” said Sucharita Mulpuru, Forrester Research principal analyst and lead author of the report. “The casual shopper goes online to look for the best price, leveraging the transparency of the Internet to save money. However, more affluent customers appreciate the convenience of shopping online and are not necessarily looking for the best deal. Retailers would be wise to recognize there are significant opportunities within both audiences and should market to them accordingly.”

Other key findings from the NRF's survey include:

- 65% of online retailers will increase their focus on advertising on social networks
- 55% of online retailers will focus on widgets
- 35% of online retailers will continue to use search marketing

Tags: consumer spending, online retail market, online shopping