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Notiziario Marketpress di
Mercoledė 29 Novembre 2000 |
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ONLINE HOLIDAY SHOPPING WILL NET 2.6 BILLION EUROS FOR EUROPEšS RETAILERS, ACCORDING TO FORRESTER
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Amsterdam, Netherlands, 29 November 2000 . . Though a far cry from the $10 billion in holiday sales that Forrester expects in the Us, European consumers will spend a considerable 2. 6 billion euros online for the holidays -- 30% of all 2000 online retail, according to Forrester Research B. V. (Nasdaq: Forr). Significantly, this value nearly equals all online retail sales in Europe for all of 1999. In all European countries, holiday shopping will account for a major percentage of this yearšs total online sales -- ranging from 23% in Denmark to 39% in Greece. German retailers will reap the highest revenues, taking 715 million euros from online shoppers, which equates to 31% of all 2000 online sales. Second will be the Uk, where the holiday season will drive 664 million euros accounting for 29% of all online sales this year. In France the online shopping season will be worth 292 million euros, delivering 36% of all sales online for the year. "As the number of online shoppers grows over time -- in the first six months of the year alone, the number nearly doubled -- retailers have found more justification to migrate their offer to the Net," commented Forrester analyst Abigail Leland. "In addition to enjoying better selection from trusted retailers, Europešs online consumers simply gain trust as they spend more time online. In Europešs biggest Net economies like the Uk, consumers have been online long enough for the effect to hit, and in countries like Spain and Italy, waves of free-Isp Internet initiates who first came online last Christmas will hit their first-year mark and make their first online purchases this holiday. " In key categories like toys, offline holiday sales can account for up to 50% of total yearly sales. Only in categories like groceries and travel do retailers see proportionately little additional spending during the holidays than in other seasons. "Europešs retailers learned a lesson from the fiascoes that Us online retailers encountered last year so they included basics like customer service, performance, and products in this yearšs plans," Leland added. "Those that arenšt scrambling to implement these basics at the last minute must now focus on the finishing touches that eliminate barriers to online shopping. " Recognizing that many of this yearšs online shoppers in Europe will be first-timers, Forrester advises that retailers employ three simple elements to reassure Net buyers during their early online purchases. First, provide them with a simple statement on payment guarantees, placed consistently throughout the site -- not pages of legal jargon buried in the Faq section to reassure inexperienced users that there is little to fear. Second, keep a phone number visible at all times to confirm to users that there is a true business behind the fancy interface. Finally, utilize peersš advice -- like top 10 lists and user-generated product reviews to give customers objective reassurance to click the "buy" button. "Smart retailers will make online shopping a no-brainer by packaging convenience offers -- top-selling products complete with wrapping service, delivery coverage and shipping costs -- that send users straight from the home page to the checkout," Leland added. "And retailers canšt ignore email -- the function that is the first port of call for most new Net users. Successful players will use this to their advantage by sending out low-tech, text-only emails that encourage users to "pass it on" -- reaching consumers that arenšt particularly Web-savvy yet but who will recognize a good offer when they see it. " www. Forrester. Com . |
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