According to researcher ComScore Inc., online shopping is on track to rise 16 per cent to reach $61 billion U.S. for November and December. All of this has been credited to lower unemployment rates, higher consumer confidence and a decline in oil prices, allowing customers to spend more money on presents. ComScore also added that mobile sales made up $7.9 billion of total sales.
Amazon.com and other online retailers are reporting the highest number of products sold this holiday season, which has been a direct result of promoting merchandise earlier than usual as well as investing more time and finances in delivery systems in order to ship product on time for Christmas.
According to Bloomberg, Amazon.com hored more employees and opened additional distribution centres while UPS and FedEx also increased employee numbers.
Jarrett Streebin, CEO of EasyPost, a San Francisco company that helps retailers coordinate labels and tracking with delivery companies told Bllomberg that, “Shoppers were aware of last year’s problems, and the e-commerce companies and shipping companies were prepared. So far, it looks like everything went really well.”
Christmas Day served as a time for people to purchase music, apps and other items for smartphones and tablets online, increasing online shopping for that day by 8.3 per cent compared to last year.
According to Bloomberg, smaller companies also added to the rise in online holiday sales investing in technology and embracing the Internet in order to keep up with the rest of the industry. CJ