Dollars & Details:
Online merchandise, entertainment ticket and travel sales will be over $400 billion in the US, and $2 trillion worldwide during 2017. Ecommerce will continue to leap ahead, as consumers become accustomed to buying merchandise online that they were previously intent on purchasing only in stores. This includes online growth in food sales, such as everyday groceries and ready-to-cook meal packages.
Amazon.com, was growing at a 25%+ rate during 2016, with total revenues in the $130 billion range. That’s nearly two and one-half times its revenues of 2011! While Wal-Mart remains the world’s largest retailer ($486 billion in sales), it isn’t hard to imagine Amazon eventually surpassing Wal-Mart in the future. Consumer and technology trends are in Amazon’s favor, and the entire world is Amazon’s market.
Trends and Theories:
Traditional retailing is under attack worldwide by the convenience and everyday low prices offered by ecommerce. In the U.S., ecommerce grew by about 11% during the Christmas 2016 season alone—this type of growth makes traditional retailers green with envy. Shopping via smartphone is soaring. Many retail store chains are justifiably terrified of the future. Amazon is expecting such dramatic growth in the U.S. that it recently announced plans to hire 100,000 additional America employees.
Ranks and Results:
Hot-off-the-Press:
All the information you need about the global ecommerce business can be found at Plunkett Research, including our ecommerce research center online, and our just-published, completely-updated Plunkett’s E-Commerce & Internet Business Almanac, 2017 edition.
