Trends in e-Commerce: Still Growing!

The following post actually comes from another post that I wrote for the Prosper Learning blog. I felt that this information was important enough to go ahead and include it on this blog as well. Needless to say, the internet is still growing in leaps and bounds compared to regular retail! Here’s the info:

Retail sales online continue to grow in 2007. Is anyone surprised? E-commerce and business on the internet really is setting itself up as the wave of the future, and with things still on the rise it’s a great time to get involved.So let’s look at some of the numbers. According to the Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce e-commerce sales for the first quarter of 2007 (January to March) were estimated at $31.5 billion, which is an increase of 3% from fourth quarter of 2006 (October - December). That may not sound like a huge increase, but total retail sales only increased by about 1.7%. So e-commerce once again almost doubled regular retail in one quarter! Another interesting statistic is that e-commerce retail sales have increased by an estimated 18.4% since fourth quarter 2006. Total retail sales only increased by an estimated total of 3.2%. If you were wondering if e-commerce was still growing, the answer is a resounding YES!

Here are some highlights from some of the big players online and what they have also experienced in the first quarter of 2007:

Amazon

Amazon has experienced some great growth so far this year. Net sales increase 32% since the first quarter of 2006. In dollars, that’s an increase from $2.28 billion to $3.02 billion in sales. Their net income increased 115% in the same period, which equates to an increase from $51 million to $111 million. Talk about growth!

eBay

eBay also had some good growth in the first quarter. Their total revenue increased from $1.72 billion in the fourth quarter of 2006 to $1.77 billion. Net income increased from $346 million to $377 million in the same period.

If you were wondering if e-commerce is still growing, the answer is a resounding YES! The good news is that its not just the big boys that are growing, but other smaller sites all over the internet continue to grow their profits as well.

So how can you benefit from this information? Very simply, if you’re not involved with selling things online you should really consider doing so! The internet is a marketplace that is only going to continue to grow as time goes on. Don’t let this train pass you by. Whether it’s getting involved with eBay or starting up your own retail website, now is a great time to get started.

Another great thing about getting started on the internet is that there is lots of free information and also people that are willing to help you get started. The possibilities are endless. Find something that you’re interested in and something that you can get a supplier for, and start getting involved!

Sources:

U.S. Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov/mrts/www/data/html/07Q1.html
Amazon Q1 2007 Financial Results: http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/97/97664/Q107_PressRelease.pdf
eBay: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/is?s=EBAY

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