2010 Holiday Forecast to Increase

Forrester is estimating online sales growth will increase by 16% year over year vs. 1.5-2% growth estimates for in store. Affluent consumers will drive a larger portion of this growth. Online retailers are planning aggressive promotions throughout the holiday season and especially on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, 34% offering deep discounts at peak times.
Consumers continue to shift their spend to the online channel. In 2009, 30% of consumers’ wallet was spent online with 37% expected in 2010 per the North American Technographics Retail Online Survey.
Online retailers continue to see the shift online with a robust rebound; 70% reporting gross online sales increased YOY in Q2, and 80% reported increases in 3Q per a Shop.org/Forrester survey.

Other stats from Forrester:

12% growth in new US online buyers
Average Spend of $338 in 2010 vs. $303 in 2009.
87% of US online buyers with household income over 100k will spend more online in 2010 vs 2009
16% will use mobile devices to compare online and in store pricing
31% of US online consumers will only buy online if offered free shipping.

How to Prepare as a Retailer

Ensure your site is redundant and has the ability to scale for the spike in traffic on Friday and Monday.
Free Shipping
Benchmark vs competition and ramp up promotions if behind
Ratings and Reviews
Targeted marketing
Measure mobile traffic