Predictions of a gloomy Christmas for retailers are falling on deaf
ears in the world of ecommerce, where online businesses are reporting
strong and growing activity as the festive season drew to a close and
January sales started. Online sales by our customers have risen by 70
per cent in the past 12 months with significant growth in the past few
months.

We’ve seen a 25 per cent increase in unique visitors in the past
quarter alone and 17 per cent during November. This growth continued
throughout December with the normal lull around the 22nd. However we
have seen a pick up in January that is again growth on last year.

Most of us know there are bargains to be had but you have to look for
them.  As more consumers are financially challenged or just more
fearful about the future, they are turning to the internet as an
attractive and lower cost alternative to bricks and mortar companies
with their high overheads.

The average order value for our customers is almost 30 per cent higher
than last Christmas and conversion rates have increased by over 50 per
cent in the same period.  Of course, our customers sell a wide variety
of products, from home theatre systems to glass beads, but the overall
trend is extremely positive.

We know that consumers are doing more research online. GetPrice CEO,
Chris Hitchen, said traffic to the site has almost tripled in the past
12 months from 700,000 visits in November 2007 to 1.96 million visits
last month.

“We’ve seen a massive increase in traffic as people use the internet
to do their research and make buying decisions.  During this uncertain
economic climate, people are getting savvier about how they spend
their money and of course the internet affords them transparency,
immediacy and convenience, as well as the opportunity to compare
products and prices to get the best deal relevant to their personal
criteria.”

Mr Hitchen said many consumers will click through to an internet store
to make their purchase while others will simply do their research
online and then go to an offline store to complete the transaction.

“While price-conscious consumers simply want the cheapest product,
we’re seeing higher click-through rates for known brands – multi-
channel retailers who sell online but also offer in-store returns to
maximise convenience for shoppers.  We’re currently redesigning the
site to provide more information about warranties and support levels
to help our visitors have a more complete picture of the merchant’s
offering to inform their buying decision,” he said.

To be part of the growth online you need to have an online presence.
There is an eCommerce success formula and success online can be
replicated. It’s all about a professional approach, safe and reliable
technology like ePages, and quality of goods and services. You must
have the right channels to market and professional partners for
technology, payments and marketing.

Mr Debrincat said in today’s economic climate, an online store or
eCommerce website is essential to retail success.  An online store is
another channel to market and should be the face of your business on
the World Wide Web and it is essential to have an online shopping and
marketing strategy to succeed.

January is a great time to think about your online strategy and to
revamp your website or online store. Although in general it is a
quieter time there are still people out there on vacation and looking
for bargains. So think about promoting the products that you want to
move with special offers like free shipping.