August 9th, 2011

Who else is shopping online?

Here are some facts about online shopping in 2011. I was curious and thought you might be as well. You might find some surprises...

~ 875 million people have shopped online - nearly 85% of total shoppers.

~ The Internet marketplace has increased from 10% to 40% of global shoppers in the last two years.

~ Top countries for online shopping:

      Korea - 99%
      United Kingdom - 97%
      Germany - 97%
      Japan - 97%
      The US is eighth in ranking at 94%

~ What are online shoppers buying?

      Books
      Clothing, accessories, and shoes
      Videos, DVDs, and games
      Airline tickets
      Electronics

~ How do they pay?

      60% use credit cards
      25% use Paypal
      53% who used a credit card used Visa

US online retail spending on non-travel items was $37.5 billion in the second quarter of 2011 - a 14% growth rate over the first quarter of 2011.

Here's an alarming thought for this back-to-school season:

4 out of 10 back-to-school shoppers will spend over $250 to send their little ones back to the classroom. Good thing my 5 siblings and I are long out of school. There is NO WAY my parents had to cough up anywhere near this amount. Seems like a market-driven "have to" to me - and not necessity...

I'll plan on updating this page at least once per quarter. I think internet shopping will continue to increase - especially for those who gradually get decent internet bandwidth in more rural areas like mine. Rising gas prices will also contribute to the shop-from-home convenience of the internet along with occasional ability to get free shipping.

It remains to be seen whether or not states push internet retailers to gather sales tax from customers in states in which they do not have a physical structure.

Read more statistics from Neilsen.

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