Update on Holiday Shopping

Amazon.com went public almost 10 years ago and online holiday sales are still less than one-tenth of the total. It is highly expected that Web shopping won’t ever eclipse the fun shoppers going to the malls to see and touch their products before buying them.

A prediction from Jupiter Research in New York says online shopping will eventually peak at between 10% and 15% of the total annual retail sales. Online sales will break the $100 billion mark for the first time this year. According to ComScore Networks, a Reston, Virginia research firm, cyber-sales during the holiday season will climb 24% to $24.3 billion this year. According to Washington-based National Retail Federation, total seasonal sales, excluding online shopping, will increase 5% to $457.4 billion. Thank goodness for cd rates.

Many shoppers search the Web to do research, and then go to stores to see the products. Only some trust they could get a good fit of jeans and shoes online. Retailers are increasingly using their websites to drive store traffic. According to some analysts there is a social aspect of shopping and for some shoppers it is an actual activity they’ll plan on.

Coach, a New York-based company and the largest US luxury leather goods maker, this holiday season is providing facility to shoppers to view handbags from multiple angles on its website. The company is also promoting its store-return policy and flat $8.50 shipping rate for online purchases. The company CEO, Lew Frankfort views the Internet as the Coach flagship store that anyone can visit at home or from the office. “I saw it as a marketing vehicle,” he said in an interview. According to Coach spokeswoman, Andrea Shaw Resnick, online sales, while the fastest growing, represent only about 3% of Coach’s total sales. More than 70% of shoppers who visit Coach’s Web site say it spurs them to buy in stores.