Ecommerce Will Continue to Shape Retail for Years

Ecommerce will continue to shape the retail market for years. Currently, 12.4 % of total retail sales come from ecommerce, but that number is expected to grow significantly in the next five years. By 2025, ecommerce will account for 25% of total retail sales. As it does, ecommerce will shape the retail market.

“Consumers want things faster with more flexibility and less hassle and there are no signs that the trend is likely to slow down but rather the opposite,” Scott Recknor, managing director and head of asset management at Black Creek Group, tells GlobeSt.com. “For instance, Cyber Monday sales this year were higher than ever before totaling $9 billion, up 19% from $7.9 billion last year. And, ecommerce is still in its infancy with the sector making up about 12% of total retail sales and is expected to grow to 25% by 2025.”

While online sales will gain market share, brick-and-mortar will continue to play an important role in the market. Retail and ecommerce will continue to balance the retail market. “We are actually seeing ecommerce complementing retail with greater adoption of omnichannel distribution,” says Recknor. “Businesses are changing how they operate, understanding the importance of offering the consumer more flexibility by either purchasing or returning products either online or in-store. Warby Parker, Casper, Wayfair and Amazon have really done this well. I recently read that competition among retailers has led to a 41% growth of BOPIS (buy online, pickup in-store) services this year, which proves the point that shoppers are increasingly looked for convenience and time saving.”