In our previous blog post you could read about very promising results for retail e-commerce sales numbers in global cross-border markets. Recent retail reports from Adobe and Deloitte* are predicting very promising results for online e-commerce in the U.S. this holiday season. Here is a quick look at some of the numbers from the reports.

Adobe’s Major Findings:

• Projecting online shoppers to spend $107,4 billion USD between Nov. 1^st and Dec. 31^st
• Year-over-year growth of 13,8% versus the same time period last year.
• The 5-day stretch from Thanksgiving (Nov. 23^rd) through Cyber Monday (Nov. 27^th) is accounting for 18.3% ($19.7 billion USD) of total $107.4 billion USD projection.
• 54% of all retail site visits during this time period will occur on mobile devices, topping desktop visits which will only account for 46% of visits.

Deloitte’s Major Findings:

• Projecting online shoppers to spend  around $110 billion USD between Nov. 1^st and Jan. 31^st
• Year-over-year growth of 18-21% Deloitte versus the same time period last year.

An important conclusion to draw based on these findings, is that E-commerce companies must continue to find ways to set themselves apart from competitors to drive growth and take home their share of the profits during the Holiday season. While this year’s record breaking online holiday shopping season is almost certainly built on the strength of several big players (with wide selections, easy shopping experiences and an increase in the free shipping model), there are still opportunities for savvy small retailers to win their share of online shoppers’ attention – specifically with the mobile experience.

As our October article “Tipping Point for Retail Has Arrived” stated, “Technology evolves quickly and changes in the retail industry are happening at a rapid pace.” We will see that one of the key driving forces for change in e-commerce this holiday season, and beyond, will certainly be use of mobile devices for online purchases.

As a global delivery partner, Direct Link realizes that as more consumers across the globe become comfortable and experienced at shopping online, they will shift more of their holiday spend online while expecting better service from their retailers. This creates both opportunities and challenges for retailers.

Austin Whittenberger – Regional Account Manager in the U.S.

* The Adobe and Deloitte reports are based on analysis from 1 trillion visits to over 4500 retail sites hosting around 55 million SKUs and also ties in analysis from 12 million social mentions and surveys from more than 1100 U.S. consumers.