Business-to-Business e-commerce:
The growth of the Internet and commercial Web-based applications is providing increased cost savings to large companies, trading enterprises and reducing the financial hurdles to conduct e-commerce. More and more companies are looking to incorporate eBusiness solutions such as eProcurement, CRM, online sales, and supply chain management.
The marketers in the US and Europe are turning to search engine marketing and optimization methods because of accountability and return on investment (ROI) given by these options.
e-commerce analysis:
retail e-commerce:
According to the Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce, the US retail e-commerce sale for the first quarter of 2007 was $31.5 billion, an increase of 3.0 percent from the fourth quarter of 2006. The figure given was adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences.
Total retail sales have increased 1.7 percent, from the fourth quarter of 2006, to $999.5. E-commerce sales shares around 3.2 percent of total sales, but on non-adjusted basis, the estimate of U.S. retail e-commerce sales for the first quarter of 2007 totaled $30.6 billion, a decrease of 13.4 percent from the previous year.
survey methodology
Samples of the Monthly Retail Trade Survey (MRTS) are used for the estimation of preliminary and the final US retail e-commerce sales. Around 12,500 retail firms, whose sales are weighted and benchmarked to complete universe of over two million retail firms, are selected by a stratified simple random sampling method. The updating of MRTS sample was done on the basis of new retail employer businesses, business deaths, and other changes to the retail business universe.
reliability of estimates:
The data given may contain sampling error and nonsampling error as it is based on a sample survey. A range of about 90 percent of confidence interval is to the estimate through the margin of error. Selected samples were used for the calculation of confidence intervals. It is stated that in a condition when the confidence interval contains 0% error, then there is no sufficient evidence to show that at the 90 percent confidence level the estimated change is different from zero.
retail e-commerce:
The estimate of U.S. retail e-commerce sales for the second quarter of 2007, stated by the Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce, was $33.6 billion, an increase of 4 percent (±0.8%) from the first quarter of 2007. The figure given was adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences. Total retail sales for the second quarter of 2007 increased 1.3 percent (±0.3%) from the first quarter of 2007 to $1,012.6 billion. An increase of 20.8 percent in the e-commerce estimate from the second quarter of 2006 was found in the second quarter of 2007.
The estimate of U.S. retail e-commerce sales in the second quarter, on non-adjusted basis, was $31.8 billion, an increase of 3.9 percent (±0.8%) from the first quarter of 2007.
survey methodology
Sample used for the Monthly Retail Trade Survey (MRTS) were used for the calculation of preliminary and final U.S. retail e-commerce sales estimates. Total number of firms surveyed was similar to the firms surveyed in the first quarter of 2007. The updating of estimates was also similar to the previous one. The estimate is subject to revision because they are preliminary estimate. |
