Budgets/Spending/Market Size

The National Retail Federation confirmed what many retailers already knew and made a downward revision to a holiday forecast that initially called for 3.7% growth.
 
Citing what it called “unforeseen events,” the National Retail Federation (NRF) said sales during November and December increased 3% to $626 billion, down from an earlier forecast which envisioned growth of 3.7%.   
 

The National Retail Federation confirmed what many retailers already knew and made a downward revision to a holiday forecast that initially called for 3.7% growth.

Citing what it called “unforeseen events,” the National Retail Federation (NRF) said sales during November and December increased 3% to $626 billion, down from an earlier forecast which envisioned growth of 3.7%.

In the next few years, retailers around the world are set to substantially increase their investments in e-commerce software, with five vendors spearheading the growth.

According to a new study from Research and Markets, the global retail e-commerce software market will expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.95% during the period 2014-2019. Research and Markets has identified Magento, Oracle ATG Commerce, PrestaShop, Shopify and WooThemes as the five key retail e-commerce vendors.

New York City is the best city for shopping in the world, according to a report by Expedia.co.uk, followed by Berlin and Los Angeles. While New York has long been a retail hub, the Expedia study, “The World’s 25 Best Shopping Cities,” also contains a few surprises — Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), for example, is ranked No. 5. [Expedia.co.uk]

Ollie’s Bargain Outlet is raising its full year outlook after the discount retailer holiday strategy delievered strong sales growth.

The company annouced that net sales over the holidays increased 23%, while same store sales increased 5.6%.

The final tally is in, and it was a happy holiday for retailers engaging in digital commerce, with help from strong mobile performance.

According to data from comScore, total digital spend for the holiday season (including preliminary mobile commerce estimates) reached $69.1 billion in 2015. This represents about a 13% annual gain from $61.3 billion spent in the 2014 season.

Consumers are changing the way they browse and shop for goods using mobile devices.

According to the State of Retailing Online 2016 study from Forrester Research, Shop.org and Bizrate Insights, growing use of smartphones by consumers, a shift in investments by technology companies and continued optimization strategies from retailers has landed smartphones on top as a driver of mobile sales and traffic for retail companies.

The numbers are in and one specific device clearly served as a major catalyst for increased e-commerce sales during the 2015 holiday season.

According to the MarketLive 2015 Holiday Flash Report, smartphone revenue during the just-completed holiday season (Nov. 23, 2015 – Jan. 3, 2016) increased 50%. Overall e-commerce revenue grew 8% during that period.