Black Friday Sales 2012

MSNBC ran an article last night stating that online retail growth is reaching its plateau, and by 2010 companies can expect to see growth cool off. According to their research and research from Jupiter Research, people who are already buying online will continue to do so, while those who haven’t adopted online buying habits won’t buy online in the future.

Part of the issue with people who haven’t adopted online buying habits is that they don’t trust buying products/services online. In my opinion, this isn’t a reason why people won’t buy online in the future, but rather an opportunity for marketers to persuade those customers to try purchasing online. Plus, as kids grow up they will buy online, and so will their children. The world is becoming more interconnected every day and it is up to marketers to provide people with a positive online shopping experience.

While I do believe that this huge growth spurt will slow down, I don’t see it plateauing for many years to come. Online retail spending is only 9% of overall retail spending. To me, as a marketer, that number offers huge potential to the online retail sector. Just like the people who say Affiliate Marketing is dying, I think you are wrong. With clever minds and smart marketing tactics there is always room for growth. In no way do I feel that online retail spending has hit its cap.