Are
you as surprised by that information as I am?
With all the hype surrounding the growth of e-commerce I would have
thought it was higher, much higher.
But,
according to the U.S. Department of Commerce in 1Q 2018 e-commerce sales were
estimated to be $123.7 billion, an increase of 3.9% from 4Q 2017, up 16.4% versus
1Q 2017. Very impressive.
Until
you put it into perspective. Total estimated
retail sales for 1Q 2018 were $1,306.7 billion, an increase of .2% from 4Q
2017, up 4.5% versus 1Q 2017.
So we
can see that while e-commerce growth is indeed out pacing growth as a whole we
still have a long way to go before digital completely takes over our lives.
Of
course those of us who buy almost everything online, (our apartment building
gets over 150 packages a day) are left wondering what exactly accounts for the
difference.
According
to a study from Pew Research while the majority of Americans do shop online
(79%) most do so infrequently, with only 15% saying they buy online weekly. Moreover,
65% of online shoppers say they prefer to make purchases in-store. (Smith & Anderson, 2016)
And
while people are happy to buy music, books and electronics online, 67% have
never purchased packaged food or beverage products online, and 65% have no
interest in ever doing so. (Redman, 2018)
Having just returned from shopping at the local Farmer's Market, I get that.
But unlike
other Americans I do buy my health and beauty products online - only 29% do.
(Kelly, 2017)
So the
things that people buy most frequently - food and toilet paper are not being
bought online in great quantities yet.
That certainly explains why Amazon bought Whole Foods.
But
it's also an important thing for marketers to remember as they increasingly
spend all their marketing dollars on digital.
Sometimes we get ahead of ourselves.
Smith,
A. & Anderson, M. (2016, December 19)
Online Shopping and Purchasing Preferences. pewinternet.org. Retrieved August 15, 2018, from http://www.pewinternet.org/2016/12/19/online-shopping-and-purchasing-preferences/
Redman,
R. (2018, May 25) Many Americans
unconvinced about buying groceries online.
supermarketnews.com Retrieved August 15, 32018, from https://www.supermarketnews.com/consumer-trends/many-americans-unconvinced-about-buying-groceries-online
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