In light of the attacks on September 11, Forrester revisited its online shopping projections for this holiday season and is sticking with its original estimate of $11 billion, a 10% increase over the 2000 holiday season.

Why?

  • Consumers concerned about travel will turn to online gift-giving instead of visiting family.
  • Forrester expects 6 million households to start shopping online this holiday season. In addition, the ease with which urgently needed charitable donations have been made via the Web will encourage those donors who are new to eCommerce to return for holiday shopping.
  • Consumers continue to turn to the Web in general. Online shopping continued during the September 11 attacks. According to comScore Networks, Web users spent $96 million online between the morning of September 11 and the evening of September 12.

What should retailers do to make this holiday season a success?

  • To cater to stay-at-home shoppers, retailers must ensure that their sites can accommodate shoppers who want to send gifts to multiple addresses in a single transaction.
  • Offer in-store pick up for online purchases.
  • Launch online campaigns to encourage early shopping.
  • To retain new online shoppers, retailers must provide easily understood privacy and security policies, as well as clear navigation and quick checkout.

To receive additional information on eCommerce this holiday season, please contact Mariko Zapf at +1 617/613-6255 or mzapf@forrester.com to schedule an interview with a Forrester analyst.