Trends 2008: European eCommerce And Online Retail

The big trend for 2008 is staring retailers right in the face. While Social Computing and Web 2.0 took off in a significant way in 2007 and have a part to play in the coming year, the real riches to be gained in Europe are straightforward — surging numbers of consumers will continue to go shopping online for everything from eco-friendly white goods to purely digital content to luxury products. For those retailers and consumer product brands that focus their efforts on improving their eCommerce presence across all channels in 2008, the payoff will be immediate. Specifically, Forrester expects significant trends in 2008 to focus on improvements in collaborative merchandising, increased consumer demand for instant gratification, enhancement of product discovery tools, and the emergence of mobile comparison shopping. Online retailers and consumer product brands that augment and enhance site functionality, provide real-time transparent inventory, and offer a wide variety of shipping and payment options will be the big winners in 2008.