Ecommerce continues to grow significantly, as shown in the most recent online retail sales totals for last week. This strong boost in spending follows this year's Cyber Monday, which turned out to be biggest day in history for internet shopping.

According to a study by comScore, between December 8-14, approximately $6.9 billion was spent online, representing an 11 percent increase from the same week last year. Four individual days in the workweek surpassed $1 billion in spending, highlighting the growing importance of ecommerce for retailers. The comScore report stated that for the first 44 days of the holiday shopping season, more than $33.8 billion has been purchased on the internet. This is a 13 percent jump from 2011, and analysts expect sales will keep growing.

"This past workweek saw four days surpass the billion dollar spending threshold during the heaviest five-day online shopping period on record," said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni. "With this most recent week in the books, the peak spending period may now be in our rear-view-mirror – but the online holiday shopping season is not over yet."

ComScore revealed that for Cyber Monday, consumers spent approximately $1.4 billion online, making it the largest ecommerce day ever.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Thursday, December 20th, 2012 at 10:40 am .

As consumers increasingly go online to search for and purchase items, retailers in the United Kingdom are taking note and are implementing ecommerce options for customers. Internet shopping is at the top of businesses' lists for the coming year, as they look to capitalize on sales opportunities and increase patron satisfaction.

Econsultancy reports that a study by SLI Systems revealed that 60 percent of retailers are concerned with boosting online sales conversions, and 55 percent want to drive more traffic to their sites. To help achieve these ecommerce goals in 2013, 22 percent of merchants will focus on improving their site search functionality, while 15 percent will work on making mobile commerce options more secure and accessible. Fourteen percent plan to update or change their current ecommerce platforms in the hope of driving web retail sales.

The importance of online sales is not lost on UK retailers, as a research from the Office for National Statistics found that ecommerce has jumped by 40 percent year-over-year. Out-Law.com reports that in 2011, web purchases brought in £21.4 billion ($34.7 billion) for businesses. Just one year before, that amount stood at £15.2 billion ($24.7 billion).

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Thursday, December 20th, 2012 at 5:30 am .

Offering poor customer shopping experiences, both in stores and online, is one thing retailers want to avoid. However, this aspect of operations is not always easily overseen, and many consumers will avoid doing business with merchants that provide unsatisfactory interactions.

According to recently released report from the Temkin Group, the retail industry is one of the top sectors that has poor consumer experiences, along with TV and internet service providers. Of the customers surveyed, one-third stated they would completely stop doing business with companies they had a bad experiences with. When it comes to unsatisfactory service recovery efforts after poor experiences, nearly three-quarters of respondents would never purchase items from businesses again. On the other hand, the research found that of the industries analyzed, retailers are less likely to permanently lose shoppers due to bad interactions.

To help increase customer satisfaction and experiences, Inside Retailing recommends that businesses offer more personalized interactions as well as focus on having open communications with shoppers. This can be accomplished by being transparent about services and products, and providing deals and discounts based on consumers' needs.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Thursday, December 20th, 2012 at 3:40 am .

Extra hands are always needed in retail stores to help throughout the holiday season, and businesses are wasting no time in bringing on temporary employees to deal with the rush of customers. These staff members are valuable for answering shoppers' questions and processing transactions quickly.

The Motley Fool reports that according to a recent study by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, retailers throughout the country added 465,000 seasonal employees during the month of November. This represents a 20 percent increase from the same time last year. It is also the largest number of new temporary workers ever put on retail payrolls for the month. Analysts forecast that the hiring boosts will continue in December, which could result in a record season when it comes to employment gains, the source states.

To best prepare temporary staff members for the flood of customers during the holidays, retailers will want to use a few strategies to get these workers up to speed, writes 1to1 Media. The source suggests that businesses ensure that new hires are interested in selling products and helping shoppers. Additionally, having existing employees show seasonal personnel the ropes will make them feel included.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Wednesday, December 19th, 2012 at 7:08 am .

Retailers throughout the United Kingdom have been struggling over the past few years to maintain sales. There might be hope for big gains during the holiday season, but some economists believe that businesses could instead see revenue losses over the next few weeks.

According to recent research by Netsuite, if retailers fail to capitalize on sales opportunities or do not offer the products and services consumers are looking for, they stand to lose approximately £147 million ($239 million) during the holiday season. Management Today reports that competition is another factor that could result in decreased revenues, with a forecasted total of £1.7 billion ($2.7 billion) being lost to competitors. This loss can come from shoppers taking their business elsewhere from retailers that are out of stock of the most-wanted products.

To combat this revenue decline, many U.K merchants are developing same-day and two-hour delivery services that they plan to offer over the coming year, writes Logistics Manager. While this may not prevent the losses that could occur during this year's holiday season, it will certainly help retailers with their customer retention and satisfaction efforts, which ultimately will boost revenues in 2013.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Wednesday, December 19th, 2012 at 3:57 am .

With the official start of the holiday shopping season last month, retailers have begun to analyze the purchasing habits of consumers that are hitting both brick-and-mortar locations and websites to stock up on items and gifts. This information is valuable for businesses, as merchants can tailor their offerings and incentives to fit the needs and wants of these customers. Whether it's in stores or online, companies can boost their revenues by effectively providing deals, discounts and items for the holiday season.

Online shopping becoming more prevalent

A recent study by iProspect compared both in store and web shopping patterns for the holidays from this year and last year, and perhaps one of the more evident findings was the significant increase in the number of consumers going online to purchase items. In 2011, the total sales amount was $46.7 billion through ecommerce during the holiday season. This year, that figure is forecasted to reach $54.5 billion, representing a 17 percent increase. The source states that 84 percent of holiday shoppers will go online to buy products and gifts this season.

When it comes to in-store sales, amounts have not jumped significantly over the last year, but a large number of consumers are still going to brick-and-mortar locations to purchase their gifts. The research found that in 2011, approximately $563 billion was spent during the holiday season in retail stores. This year, it is expected that shoppers will buy $586.1 billion worth of items from brick-and-mortar merchants. This is a 4 percent increase year-over-year.

Consumer confidence seems to be increasing

There are other habits that are emerging from the ongoing holiday shopping, according to Advertising Age. The source states that retailers across the country seem to be nervous about the economy, despite the steady improvements being made. For this reason, many businesses are doing their best to keep up incentives and discounts throughout the entire season, and not just on the busiest days.

On the other hand, the source writes that consumers do not seem to be impacted by the economy or are concerned about the impending fiscal cliff. Shoppers are more confident in their own financial conditions, which has led to them hitting retail stores and websites in large numbers this season. A further piece of good news is analysts' expectations that this spending will continue into the new year.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Tuesday, December 18th, 2012 at 5:47 am .

Perhaps in the hope of avoiding the holiday rush, more consumers are getting their shopping done sooner than they have in past years. This has resulted in many retailers starting their promotions and discounts early to accommodate the customers who want to buy their gifts and be done for the season.

Internet Retailer writes that according to a recently released study by the National Retail Federation (NRF), the average American shopper has already bought 56.5 percent of their holiday items. At the same time last year, that figure stood at 46.5 percent. While consumers have benefitted from earlier shopping days and hours, retailers are still hoping to draw in the crowds for the remainder of the season by offering special promotions and deals, the source states.

"There's no question that holiday shoppers wanted to make the most out of retailers' promotions as early as they could, but, as personal schedules get even busier these days, we know there are plenty of people who haven't even made a dent in their list yet," said NRF CEO and president Matthew Shay. "As two of the most important weeks of the holiday season, retailers will do their best to pull in those final dollars with unique offerings and creative promotions."

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Tuesday, December 18th, 2012 at 3:56 am .

As new purchasing channels, like online and mobile, have begun to become more popular among consumers, retailers are taking note and have started to offer these options for their shoppers in the hope of boosting retention and revenue. Businesses have especially stepped up their multichannel efforts this holiday season to accommodate consumers who prefer to buy items using a variety of methods.

Internet Retailer highlighted several companies that are offering multichannel options for their customers during this year's holiday season. However, these initiatives seem to be quite subtle and are not going over the top when it comes to promoting their many purchasing channels. One retailer the source noted was taking the multichannel approach is J. Crew, which is providing a 30 percent discount and free shipping for consumers who purchase products both in their stores and online.

When it comes to mobile strategies, many retailers are putting more effort into the method to encourage shoppers. The source writes that Macy's now has a mobile application that can be downloaded from its website, which allows users to browse and purchase items. Other companies, like Costco and Staples, are offering deals for customers that buy online and pick up in stores. 

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Monday, December 17th, 2012 at 12:21 pm .

Online shopping provides a variety of benefits for consumers, such as greater convenience and faster transaction times. However, web customers sometimes need to return the products they purchased, and they are looking for easy and free return shipping options from retailers.

According to a recently released study by ShopRunner, 81 percent of internet consumers stated they are likely to avoid purchasing items from businesses in the future if these web merchants do not offer free return shipping. When it comes to ecommerce returns overall, 69 percent of respondents believe that the process is extremely complicated. With the holiday season upon us, retailers could potentially lose out on customers if they fail to offer free or simple return policies.

Other shopping trends becoming popular this season are mobile applications being used for browsing and purchasing products, which is also leading to an increase in mobile devices used by both customers and retailers in stores, writes Forbes. Retailers are developing mobile initiatives aimed at attracting consumers to company websites as well as brick-and-mortar locations.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Monday, December 17th, 2012 at 5:35 am .

Technology is constantly changing the way retailers manage their stores and operations, whether it's in security, customer intelligence or inventory. Now, smartphones could be well on their way to changing consumer purchases within retail stores.

According to a recently released study by Harris Interactive, 61 percent of consumers surveyed believe that smartphone payments – transactions completed with the simple touch of the devices against point-of-sale terminals – could replace cash when it comes to buying products from retailers. Sixty-six percent think that these devices could be used for purchases instead of credit and debit cards. While the technology is not widespread yet, the findings highlight the growing importance of the trend, and retailers should start paying attention to how consumers are using their smartphones in-store.

However, retail purchases are not the only thing being transformed by smartphones, writes Travel Agent Central. The source states that consumers are using their devices to comparison shop and buy retail goods even when they are not at brick-and-mortar locations. This means that in order to accommodate these device-carrying customers, businesses will need to implement smartphone strategies into their operations to see boosts in revenue and retention.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Thursday, December 13th, 2012 at 4:46 am .