Powerful ecommerce software is more important than ever as customers are increasingly shopping online. Recent comScore findings for the third quarter revealed that desktop spending on e-retail rose by 13 percent from the $41.9 billion earned last year. ComScore chairman Gian Fulgoni noted that this represents a minor deceleration from the last quarter, but he suggested that the increase in major purchases such as homes and automobiles may have reduced discretionary budgets. 

"Nonetheless, we are confident that the growth rate in online spending will once again far exceed that in bricks and mortar stores, reflecting the ongoing channel shift to ecommerce," said Fulgoni. 

Meanwhile, mobile commerce helped spur some year-over-year growth, with Internet Retailer noting that it now accounts for 10.9 percent of all Web sales, up from 9.9 percent last year. The total was split between smartphones (62 percent) and tablets (38 percent) and amounted to $5.8 billion in expenditures. 

Because of changes in the ecommerce market, retailers should deploy the latest retail software and emphasize mobile compatibility. Desktop sales remain important, but market trends suggest a gradual shift to other devices.