by Doug Desjardins
While traditional retailers are experiencing a lukewarm recovery so far this year, online retailers continue to outpace their brick-and-mortar colleagues.
According to a report from MasterCard Spend Pulse, online sales in August increased 7.2 percent, more than double the 3.3 percent gain registered by standard retailers. It marked the 13th consecutive monthly increase in online sales and far exceeded the 1.5 percent jump in sales reported in August 2009.
Though the increase sounds impressive, the 7.2 percent gain was the smallest so far this year. And it was made against dismal online sales numbers from last August when retail sales were in the tank.
“Things are slightly better than in 2009, but we still have a ways to go to get back to where we were prior to the collapse,” said Michael McNamara, vice president of MasterCard Advisors. “And from this point forward, the sales comparisons to last year are going to get tougher.” He said online sales were helped by stronger apparel and electronics sales, two categories that have been doing well overall online.
The days of double-digit sale increases online may be hard to come by this year, but analysts are expecting them to average in the low double digits for the next several years. Forrester Research estimates that online sales will increase an average of 10 percent a year through 2014 and account for 53% of all U.S. retail sales by 2015.
“People are just shifting their dollars to the Web,” said Sucharita Mulpuru, vice president and senior analyst for Forrester Research. “The Web is definitely a channel where people are able to find better prices and better values.”
Nordstrom is one retailer that is making a strong push for a greater share of online sales. The department store chain launched a new version of its Web site in August that features more vibrant photos, a more-user friendly search engine and more interactive features.
“The site is much cleaner and more visually appealing than before,” said a company spokesman. “Gone is the busy list of links and multiple tabs on the home page. We’ve made navigating and shopping the site a lot simpler and more fun for the consumer.”
Nordstrom’s approach is becoming more common in all channels of retail that are recognizing that sales are consistently increasing faster online than in stores. 
Retail analyst John Knightly says retailers like Nordstrom now recognize the need to provide customers with a high level of service online as well as in stores by making the digital experience easy to use.
“Successfully serving customers in the digital era involves more than just building self-service Web sites or trying to efficiently manage customer information inside and organization,’ said Knightly. “Successful organizations understand that “business as usual” or even simply meeting expectations is not enough.”
Resources
August Retail Sales Show Continued Consumer Caution
Online Sales Projected to Exceed Over Half of Retail Sales in Five Years
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