José Ignacio Gafo Gómez-Zamalloa

The other day I read an article from The New York Times that analyzed the future evolution of Internet Sales in the USA. I found it extremely interesting as it could be a great reference about the volume and evolution that Internet Sales could take in other countries.

These are main points covered in the article:

- Internet sales are not growing that fast anymore. The expected growth for 2007 is only 11% compared to 40% one year ago.
- In terms of volume, we speak about 86.500 million US$, or 5% of the amount of sales done through offline retailers.
- PC Manufacturers like Dell and online agencies like Expedia have either started to sell their products through retailers like Wal-Mart or through physical stands.
- E-bay only increased its internet sales in the first quarter by 1%.
- Expected weight of Internet Sales in 2011 will be only 7% of the total.
- Reason for this? On the one hand, you can find an improvement in the service given by the physical retailers On the other hand , there are social factors such as the need of shoppers for interactivity and human contact.

Whatever the reason behind of the slowdown, it looks that Internet Sales will not as far as what was expected in the beginning. Even perfect industries for internet sales such a s books, accessories and clothes are slowing down.

Some new models that combine Internet and physical shopping (Clicks & Bricks), are starting to arise and could be a good fit that takes the best of both models.

However, it looks like Internet Sales will reach to a maximum in the coming years and stay there!

Do you agree? Comments are welcome.

Best.

Ignacio Gafo

Posted on 16 July 2007 in International Marketing, Distribución

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