Online Shopping is Recession Proof...Well Almost! Online Shopping Continues

These are difficult economic times for many, as we all know. When will relief trully come?  Who knows, but probably we won't know until after November 4, when we elect a new President and commit to a better long-term strategy for economic stability for us all.

In the interim period, many clients and other online merchants have asked me about my thoughts about online shopping and the affects the economy will have as to people's behaviour to shopping in general and online.

I wrote about this in a prior blog entry on May 5, titled:

Online Shopping, E-Commerce Sales Increase Because of "Perceived" US Recession

You can read entry by clicking on the title above.  I basically said that online shopping woudl benefit three months ago and now we have evidence that online shopping is doing pretty well even in a "perceived  and/or real recession."

My advice....start selling online and use comparison shopping engines to market your products better to potential customers wherever they are online and on their mobile devices.  Why? You can read an article I wrote about that by clicking here. that article was titled:

Why Online Merchants Should List Their Product Catalog on Comparison Shopping Engines

Now, in August, we have empirical evidence that online shopping may be recession proof, to some degree and that America still shops, they just find out more economic ways to shop!

Here is some new updated information from iCongo, a comprehensive eCommerce based solutions company, which I hope all online merchants find noteworthy.

High Gas Prices to Cut into Holiday Shopping Season and Drive More Shoppers Online

iCongo Survey Finds That Shoppers’ Holiday Spending Habits Will Change to Cope with the Rising Price of Gas; 36% of Online Adults More Likely to Shop Online

Portsmouth, NH and New York--(Businees Wire)-- iCongo, Inc., a leading developer of e-business systems and software, today released the results of a consumer survey1 conducted on their behalf by Harris Interactive® that shows the surge in gasoline prices will sharply cut consumers’ holiday spending and drive more shoppers online.

As a result of increasing gasoline prices, nearly three in four online adults, 73%, expect their holiday shopping habits to change in some way, for example, by spending less on gifts (42%) and doing more one-stop shopping (40%). Findings show more than one in three online adults (36%) are now more likely to shop online rather than in-person as a result of the increasing price of gasoline.

The iCongo survey also shows that nearly nine in ten online adults, 88%, currently shop online and, of those, the majority, 96%, are more likely to shop online than in-person at a store. Here’s why:

• 69% of online shoppers prefer the ability to shop at any time as a reason they are more likely to shop online;
• 60% said free shipping is a reason they are more likely to shop online; and,
• 59% of online shoppers said lower prices drive them to shop online over in a store.

<<<CLICK HERE>>> to read full article from iCongo, it is a good one.

-- Chip Arndt