7 Interesting Ecommerce Facts & Trends
Ecommerce first came to birth in 1971. In the past 44 years there have been quite a number of impressive changes and breakthroughs that have established it as the online medium that we use today to trade products and services.
Below, we’ve compiled ten interesting ecommerce facts and trends that you were probably not aware of.
1. Pizza Hut was one of the first major brands to experiment with online commerce, starting in 1994.
It might surprise many to learn that the first ever ecommerce purchase was not a book or an article of clothing, but a Pizza Hut pizza.
The company celebrated the first-ever online purchase last year with a series of promotions.
“We want to celebrate the fact that before consumers could buy books, clothes, music or vacation packages via the internet, they could place an online order for a Pizza Hut pizza,” said Carrie Walsh, chief marketing officer at Pizza Hut.
2. Although it launched in 1995, Amazon wasn’t able to turn a profit until 2003.
Despite having revenues of $1.6 billion, Amazon still managed to lose $719 million in 1999. The situation didn’t improve until 2000, when it was found that Amazon had just around “$350 million of cash on hand,” despite raising billions of dollars.
Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, didn’t finally turn a profit until 2003, which was nine years after being founded and seven years after going public.
Bezos was able to turn things by laying off one-seventh of Amazon’s work force and closing some distribution centers.
3. 80% of the online population has used the internet to make a purchase, and 50% of the online population has purchased online more than once.
‘Nuff said.
4. Apparel and Accessories’ is the fastest growing ecommerce sector of the 9 major categories.
Online sales of apparel and accessories are now growing faster than any other ecommerce product segment, and the category is poised to help US retail ecommerce sales grow 15.4% to $224.2 billion in 2012, after stronger-than-expected sales took the market to $194.3 billion last year, according to a report by eMarketer.
5. JCPenney’s sales are made via Mobile Point of Sale devices
One-quarter of all J.C. Penney Co. Inc. store sales are coming through mobile point-of-sale devices, and all store associates will have handheld iPod Touch devices by the end of this month, CEO Ron Johnson told Wall Street analysts last week on the chain retailer’s year-end earnings call.
6. 79% of online shoppers desire a tracking option with their delivery
Online shoppers value convenience, notably during the postsales process, with 65 percent of Asia Pacific shoppers rating e-mail or text alerts as the most convenient notification service to track their packages.
7. Asia holds the largest number of web purchases, with South Korea at the top of the list
he South Korean internet market has grown into one of the most developed in Asia and the world. 7 in 10 inhabitants have made an online purchase, making South Korea the most mature e-commerce country after Japan.
