Europe More Comfortable With Online Shopping

The world is on the upswing with online shopping, and it's clear that customers are enjoying the ease of it. Most of the time, the US is predominately in the news about online shopping growth, but now Europe is in the spotlight and customers there are wanting more.

It appears 53% of consumers in Europe bought something online in 2015. EU statistic agency Eurostat performed the study on online shopping there, showing that e-commerce is increasing in Europe. The percentage represents a high-water mark and exceeds the European Commission's Digital Agenda goals for technology adoption in the region. In the article by Internet Retailer, it mentioned specifically that the proportion of consumers age 16-74 who made a purchase online within the 12 months prior to the survey stood at 53% in 2015, compared with 43% in a 2012 report. Therefore, online shopping has increased by 10% in three years there.

The survey also found that 81% of individuals in the target age group in the 28-country European Union used the Internet in the 12 months prior to a new survey, and 65% of those regular Internet users bought or ordered goods or services for private use. This is an increase of 15% since 2007. Also, Eurostat found that 30% of European online shoppers purchased goods or services from sellers in other EU countries, which is up from 25% in a 2012. Lastly, 18% of shoppers bought from sellers outside the EU, compared to 13% three years earlier.

There use to be only a small percentage of shoppers being comfortable with making purchases online. One of the barriers to get past for shoppers was with the protection of secure information, which tech advancements has worked optimally to the point of even implementing high security resulting in trusted retail sources. People are more and more confident with the technology in desktops, as well as mobile devices, to conduct online buying. When this is coupled with the attractiveness of discounts and sales by e-retailers, online shopping becomes more common place in the way we do business now more than ever.

Another plus that retailers have added to make online shopping more comfortable is the service offering of same-day delivery. What first began as a trend, is now a huge competitive advantage to get the edge online that retailers are looking for. Amazon, for example, has rolled out same-day delivery in multiple major US cities in the US, including San Francisco, Dallas-Fort Worth, Indianapolis, New York, Baltimore, Boston, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle-Tacoma, Washington DC, Tampa Bay, and Atlanta. It has also made big investments into establishing itself in England.

Same-day delivery is playing a big role in being able to offer another dimension to the comfort of shopping online. The service is expected to reach $987 million by 2019, as well as online shopping to climb to $500 billion by 2018. A Same-Day Courier like A-1 Express is a viable option for retailers to partner with to get their same-day delivery program off the ground. The Los Angeles Courier has a national footprint that allows e-retailers and brick-and-mortar stores to accomplish implementing the service fast. Since more people are utilizing online shopping in the US, Europe, England, and China, same-day delivery growth is sure to follow, even worldwide.

Reference: 1.22.16, Internet Retailer, Bill Briggs, Europeans grow more comfortable shopping online

Amazon's Global Acquisitions Mean Bigger Delivery Network

If there's any company that could spearhead and revolutionize where e-commerce is going regarding fast delivery, it would be Amazon. The e-retail leader has made huge strides with same-day delivery, even making it free. Now with Amazon's most recent business move, it is going beyond just free same-day delivery, but much more.

Retail Dive recently released an article discussing how Amazon's recent acquisitions and large asset investments indicate bigger plan for the retailer's future. Amazon has plans to wholly acquire French delivery company Colis Prive. Amazon already owns 25% of the company, therefore, an initiative had already begun with doing business there. In 2014, the retailer also acquired the right to purchase 4.2% of UK delivery company Yodel. Also, it purchased thousands of semitrailers in the US and contracted trucking companies to haul them.

When these types of acquisitions occur, it shows that Amazon could be after a global establishment of itsdelivery system. Since it's global, Amazon needs global delivery system to go right along with it. It is stretching itself to be able to handle delivering the way that Amazon wants to perform its' supply chain and logistics, not being dictating by large carriers' pricing, such as FedEx and UPS. The semitrailer expansion in the US makes sense as well, enabling transporting from its' numerous distribution centers. With 50 fulfillment centers added to its' fire power around the world within the last four years, one can only believe it is duplicating itself worldwide also.

“They have the opportunity to disrupt this market and generate a lot of revenue,” stated Colin Sebastian, Robert W. Baird & Co. analyst, to the Seattle Times. With its' own delivery network for packages, the retailer will begin to give big name carriers a run for their money. Retail Dive mentioned how Amazon will control more of its' fulfillment costs, and as a result, it will begin to generate the savings in this area they are looking for.

Currently in the US, Amazon has been launching same-day delivery in multiple major US cities. Last year, Amazon rolled out free same-day delivery in 14 metropolitan cities the US, beginning with California cities in the Southland, including San Fernando Valley to Irvine, as well as the Redlands and Moreno Valley in the east. The others would be cities such as the San Francisco Bay Area, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Indianapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle-Tacoma, Tampa Bay, Atlanta, and Washington DC as well.

Amazon may be seeking after performing its' own deliveries, yet currently it is also utilizing partners to deliver for them in some cities. Other retailers that aren't as robust as Amazon, can also partner with a Same-Day Courier like A-1 Express to help them expand and offer same-day delivery as well. The Miami Courier has a number of retailers that it develops same-day solutions for, as well as quick implementation nationwide.

Reference: 1.12.16, www.retaildive.com, Daphne Howland, Amazon's acquisition of delivery company hints at larger ambitions

Convenient Shopping Helped Holiday Online Sales Grow

The holiday shopping season has come and gone, giving a lot of retailers hope for their online sales momentum going into the new year. Internet Retailer reported about how e-commerce sales went up this year by 20% between Black Friday and Christmas Eve. This shows that more and more shoppers are becoming more comfortable with the convenience of purchasing online.

The data was gathered by MasterCard Advisors and the company's findings was based on national US retail sales across all payments types between November 27th (Black Friday) and December 24th, right before Christmas. The article mentioned how lower gas prices helped with the sales increase. Also, part of the online sales increase can be attributed to consumers lacking time to shop in stores. In addition, they can buy a gift and have it delivered; however, the recipient can handle the return if they don't like the gift.

The National Retail Federation in October predicted that retail sales during November and December will grow 3.7% compared with 2014. On-store sales—which include online and mail-order catalogs, telephone sales and other direct-to-consumer sales that do not take place online—would grow by 6-8%. Also, an October NRF survey showed that online shopping would account for almost 50% of purchases this holiday season, and that consumers, on average, said 46% of their holiday shopping this year will be done online, up from 44.4% in 2014.

ComScore Inc. forecasted that online sales would be lower than the 20% increase this year. Therefore, consumers surprised businesses with how they came out and shopped online during the 2015 holiday season. There is a level of visibility that retailers have brought to the web that makes it easy for shoppers to research, compare and make the purchase that makes the most sense. Also, in-store pick up is helping department stores like Macy's transition its' customers from online into its' store. They can bypass long lines by simply ordering online, which again save times and adds convenience to the shopping process that customers want.

Online growth is still small in comparison with in-store sales. Sarah Quinlan, MasterCard Advisors’ senior vice president of market insights, stated in the article, “I don’t believe this kind of growth is sustainable, and I think we’ll see a return to more single-digit growth numbers after the first of the year. Even with the surge in online spending growth, it’s still only 10% of total retail sales during this holiday period, so the share is still not huge. Consumers are doing their homework online and not necessarily executing there."

Online business isn't a huge total of retail sales, yet it is a growing one, commanding the attention of companies to stay current with e-commerce. For example, Amazon, Google, and more are causing same-day delivery to become a staple service with online business because of more market segments it provides access to. Many shoppers, especially younger age groups, like the convenience of utilizing their tech gadgets to get online items delivered right to their front door or workplace.

As same-day delivery grows along with e-commerce, more companies will be inclined to partner with a Same-Day Courier like A-1 Express to perform the actual service for them. The Portland Courier implements same-day solutions for a variety of businesses nationwide, which is plus for retailers pursuing to compete online.

Reference: 12.28.15, www.internetretailer.com, Tracy Maple, Holiday e-commerce sales surge 20%