Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- The issues
- Buyers focused on price
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- Figure 1: Price vs. assistance and rapid checkout, March 2015
- Wants beating needs
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- Figure 2: Categories purchased online, March 2015
- Amazon’s grip tight
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- Figure 3: Extent of online shopping conducted on Amazon, March 2015
- Good times, lousy profits
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- Figure 4: US total online shopping sales, at current prices, 2010-20
- The opportunities
- The more the merrier
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- Figure 5: Mean spend on most recent order, by number of children in household, March 2015
- Low free-shipping threshold; omnichannel options for returns
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- Figure 6: Opportunities related to shipping and returns, March 2015
- What it means
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- CAGR of 16% from 2010-15
- Trillions available for growth
- Rise of web, mobile, price-checking to drive future growth
Market Size and Forecast
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- 16% behind, 12% ahead
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- Figure 7: Total US online retail sales, at current prices, 2010-20
- Figure 8: US total online shopping sales, at current prices, 2010-20
Market Perspective
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- E-commerce carries limited share of total retail
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- Figure 9: Attitudes that limit online shopping, March 2015
- Omni-channel opportunity for clothing
- Sense of touch, same-day premiums, and existing brick-and-mortar trips
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- Figure 10: Product categories purchased online, March 2015
- Limited interest in in-store pickup
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- Figure 11: Attitudes to in-store pick-up of online purchases, March 2015
Market Factors
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- Mobile advances
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- Figure 12: US mobile shopping sales as share of total online shopping, 2011-17
- Showrooming and second-screening
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- Figure 13: Attitudes related to showrooming and second-screening, April 2012-December 2014
- Living online
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- Figure 14: Role of internet in leisure and socialization, April 2010-December 2014
- Just a couple clicks from checking it out to checking out
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- Figure 15: Role of internet as source of information, April 2010-December 2014
- One in four see online as default shopping choice
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- Figure 16: Online channel as default for shopping, April 2012-December 2014
- Figure 17: Online channel as default for shopping, selected demographics, April-December 2014
Key Players – What You Need to Know
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- Amazon reigns
- Rising tide swells most ships
- Topline and bottom line in conflict
- Unique product, social mandates carry newcomers
What’s Working?
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- Amazon carries one quarter of sales
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- Figure 18: Extent of online shopping conducted on Amazon, March 2015
- In their own words
- Eleven brands see half billion dollar increase
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- Figure 19: Selected stores with online sales growth of $500 million or more, 2014
What’s Struggling?
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- Physical media, specialty buyer groups, hobbyist products
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- Figure 20: Selected online stores with sales declines, 2014
- The bottom line: struggling to earn a profit
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- Figure 21: Focus on price and interest in assistance and rapid checkout, March 2015
What’s Next?
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- Unique inventory
- Luxury, value, health, social consciousness
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- Figure 22: Selected online stores with sales growth exceeding 75%, 2014
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Household with multiple children most frequent shoppers
- Spending and frequency intertwined
- Physical media, women’s clothing rank high
Frequency of Online Shopping
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- Majority shop online at least monthly
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- Figure 23: Frequency of online shopping, March 2015
- Parents, 18-34s lead
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- Figure 24: Frequent online shopping, selected demographics, March 2015
Spend Per Order
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- Order size at $114 tied to shipping, research
- Frequent buyers also liberal spenders
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- Figure 25: Mean spend on most recent order, selected demographics, March 2015
Products Purchased and Stores Used
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- Books, apparel, accessories top purchases
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- Figure 26: Types of products purchased online in past three months, April 2013-December 2014
- Wide divide between Amazon and competitors
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- Figure 27: Online stores used in past three months, April 2013-December 2014
Expedited Shipping and Automated Reordering
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- Niche services taken up by households with kids
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- Figure 28: Use of expedited shipping and automatic reordering, by selected demographics, March 2015
Posting Reviews
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- Posting product reviews common across demographic groups
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- Figure 29: Posting product reviews, by selected demographics, March 2015
Saving Payment Information
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- One in four opposed to saving payment information
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- Figure 30: Opposition to collecting payment information, by selected demographics and behaviors, March 2015
Appendix – Data Sources and Abbreviations
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- Data sources
- Sales data
- Market size definition
- Key players
- Fan chart forecast
- Consumer survey data
- Consumer qualitative research
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Terms
Appendix – Market
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- Figure 31: Total US online sales, at inflation adjusted prices, 2010-20
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