E-Commerce More Competitive in the U.S. Than a Year Ago

Good news for small e-commerce businesses: a new report from comScore finds that the top 25 online retailers account for a smaller percentage of total online sales than they did a year ago. This is U.S. data. 

Are your e-commerce sales up? Let us know in the comments.

The firm has put out its Q2 U.S. Retail E-Commerce Spending report. 

More good news for those selling good online: more people are buying online. 

“The second quarter of 2011 saw a continuation of this year’s solid double-digit growth trends in online spending, well ahead of the rate of growth in consumers’ overall spending,” said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni.

“As a result, it’s clear that consumers are continuing to shift to the online channel, with almost $1 in every $10 of discretionary spending now occurring online," he continued. "E-commerce’s benefits of convenience and lower prices continue to be the drivers of the shift. At the same time, we are constantly reminded of an overall macroeconomic situation that is not indicative of a strong recovery. With economic growth remaining soft, the unemployment rate stubbornly high and financial markets in turmoil, consumers are less optimistic today than they have been in preceding quarters, which raises concerns for the future. We believe the third quarter will be an important indicator of which direction this economy is really headed and what that will mean for consumer spending.”

Highlights of the report include: 

- The top-performing online product categories were: Consumer Electronics (excl. PC peripherals), Computer Hardware, Computer Software, and Event Tickets. Each category grew at least 15 percent vs. year ago.

– The top 25 online retailers accounted for 66.4 percent of dollars spent online, down from 67.7 percent a year ago and down from a peak of 69.9 percent in Q3 2010, as small and mid-sized retailers continue to regain lost market share.

– The 14-percent growth in the quarter was primarily a function of an increase in the number of buyers (up 16 percent), with 70 percent of all Internet users making at least one online purchase in the quarter.

Social commerce is on the rise as people are getting over their initial fears of this kind of e-commerce.

"It’s natural that people fear change, especially when it comes to technological advances," says Megan at TabJuice, which just put out an infographic on the subject. "However, as history has proven, many of these technology-based fears are unwarranted. From the use of credit cards to online banking and purchasing, these once radical innovations are now staples in our daily lives. Today, there are fears associated with Social and Facebook Commerce when there is no reason for it. As Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg says, “If I had to guess, social commerce is the next area to really blow up.”

It will be interesting to see how social continues to shape online retail spending moving forward. Facebook is already playing a bigger role in this area, and Google+ has a lot of potential given its inevitable integration with various other Google products like AdWords, Google Checkout, Google Offers, etc. 

Do you think social media will play a large role in e-commerce moving forward? Tell us what you think.