Forrester: Online holiday spending to rise 13% to $89 billion

New York --Forrester Research said Monday it expects U.S. online sales to reach $89 billion in November and December. That's up 13%, or about $10 billion, over a year ago.



But Forrester analyst Sucharita Mulpuru noted that the expected growth is not as high as it could be due to a few unique constraints, including fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and capacity constraints in the already constrained carrier networks.



Among other recommendations found in the U.S. Holiday Forecast, 2014, Forrester recommends that retailers promote aggressive discounts early in the holiday shopping period to combat these concerns. This will spur online buyers to shop early, easing the pressure on the limited carrier capacity that intensifies at the end of December.