Forrester: U.S. online sales to reach $327 billion in 2016

The future of e-commerce is bright. After breaking through $200 billion, Forrester predicts that the size of online retail in the United States will exceed $327 billion in 2016, and its share of the retail market will increase from 7% to 9%.

What is the driving force? More users are buying online every day. In 2011, 167 million users, 53% of the US population, bought goods online. By 2016, this number will increase to 192 million, 56% of the US population. The study also pointed out that the average annual spending of users will increase from $1,207 per person to $1,738 per person in 2016.

Users are also becoming more and more accustomed to buying all kinds of goods online. In a 2011 survey, Forrester found that only 3 of the 30 categories of goods had 20% of sales through online channels, while the number of categories increased to 8 in 2011 and will reach 14 by 2016.

American shoppers are finding it easier to shop online, thanks to the improved mobile and tablet shopping experience. Innovative shopping models and customer loyalty programs - such as flash sales, Amazon's premium membership service, and aggressive promotions are taking away a lot of market share from traditional store sales. This is especially true during discount peaks such as Black Friday and Cyber ​​Monday, when 75% of users said they bought online because they thought it was a good deal.

During the same period, European online shopping sales revenue will reach $230 billion in 2016, up from $130 billion in 2011.