Forrester

Why Read This Report

This report reflects the 12th annual fielding of "The State of Retailing Online," a Shop.org study conducted by Forrester Research. The objective of the study is to collect a series of benchmarks from online retailers that primarily transact in the business-to-consumer space. This is the first of a three-part series of reports based on those findings and highlights marketing priorities, spend, allocation, and areas of marketing focus. The key findings of this year's report were that most retailers affirm that the Web channel is better positioned to weather the economic storm than the offline channel, with many retailers seeing the downturn as an opportunity to capture market share from weakened competitors. As for specific tactics, paid search continues to reign as the preferred customer acquisition tactic. However, several retailers report an increased focus on customer retention for which email is the preferred communication tool. Forrester Web site visitors without client access to our research can purchase this report at www.shop.org.