Evo-Commerce

Shoppers are evolving amid rapid environmental changes. By Randi Moore. With online retail currently growing at rates three times faster than overall market and supercenter rates, the path to growth has clearly shifted from new store openings to e-commerce. According to a report by MasterCard Advisors, e-commerce sales increased 15.2 percent year-over-year in June 2011 — the eighth straight month of double-digit growth and the 23rd month in a row that online purchases have grown.

Such rapid change can lead to extinctions. So what will go the way of the dinosaur — the mall, the supercenter, the big-box category killers? Perhaps only vending machines are safe from the digital onslaught. It is important to remember, however, that shoppers are shoppers, and that while the number of online transactions per buyer is increasing, the number of online sites visited and the average dollar-value of an online purchase has declined. This confirms that shoppers are still cautious and surgical in their approach to shopping, both online and in-store … read >>