E-Tail Sales To Reach $126 Billion By 2003

The U.S. market for online retail sales will increase to $125.6 billion in 2003 from $11.5 billion last year as shoppers become less worried about the security of Internet purchases and as more traditional retailers offer online shopping, according to a study by The Yankee Group.The survey of 3,000 online shoppers found that low price is still the main reason customers choose to make purchases on a Web site. However, the Web sites of traditional retailers will start to have an advantage if they use their stores to make returns easier and to promote their Web sites. ""Customer experience and convenience is catching up with price in terms of importance to shoppers choosing a site,"" said Melissa Bane, director of Yankee Group's Internet Market Strategies team. ""We think we're going to start seeing the Internet turn and start favoring the companies that have a local presence."" The study found that barriers to shopping on the Internet were shifting. Fewer shoppers cited concerns about security or said they would prefer to talk to a person when conducting the transaction. More shoppers said they were turned off by shipping costs, the difficulty in returning unwanted items, the delay in receiving merchandise, and having no one available at home to receive the purchase. The Yankee Group is a division of Waltham, Massachusetts-based Primark. Source: Special To CNET News.com By Bloomberg News Copyright 1999, Bloomberg L.P. All Rights Reserved.