The Green Sheet Online Edition

January 24, 2011 • Issue 11:01:02

Surprising growth in global e-commerce

By Caroline Hometh
RocketPay LLC

In spite of the economic downturn experienced worldwide, online spending is proving quite resilient in many global markets. In 2010 we saw expansion in several markets, as tentative confidence in the world economy returned.

Following is a list of some of the most interesting growth indicators in global e-commerce transactions:

Worldwide online shopping trends

• Slovakia online shopping has grown nearly 25 percent year over year, 2009 to 2010. But consumers still prefer to arrange payment upon delivery. Source: Slovak Association of Electronic Commerce

• U.K. shoppers increased their online purchases 17 percent in 2010 over 2009. Source: Interactive Media in Retail Group

• In a study commissioned by Google Inc., Boston Consulting Group found that in 2009, the Internet was worth $139 billion (£100 billion) to the United Kingdom; online buying by U.K. consumers accounted for $69 billion (£50 billion) in 2009.

• Korean online shopping continues with 20 percent year-over-year growth, 2009 to 2010. Source: Statistics Korea

• According to research by the e-commerce lab of the Athens Economics University, Greeks are heavy Internet users, with 37 percent claiming they surf the web more than 30 hours a week. Their purchasing increased 75 percent year over year, 2009 to 2010.

• The China e-Business Research Center has not released its full-year 2010 analysis, but it did report the nation's e-commerce rose 60 percent in the first half of 2010 to $339 billion, which is 2.25 trillion Chinese yuan.

• In the Oceana/Australia region, 61.3 percent of the population are now Internet users and shop online. Source: World Internet Usage Statistics

• The Middle East region experienced a whopping 1,825 percent Internet-purchasing growth over the last 10 years, with 29.8 percent of its population online. Source: World Internet Usage Statistics

• MasterCard Worldwide's SpendingPulse Report 2010 revealed that online sales rose 15.4 percent to $36.4 billion during the holiday season 2010; the biggest increase was in apparel sales.

Ways to cash in online

The good news is there is significant revenue to be made from helping the merchants in your portfolio reach these online consumers. Here are two tips:

• The easiest way to start is to enable your merchants to offer consumers the ability to shop and purchase in the currency of their own choosing. This can be accomplished through merchant accounts denominated in multiple currencies.
• Then remind your merchants they should research the cultural differences of their markets and design their websites accordingly.

Caroline (Carrie) Hometh is the Executive Vice President Sales for RocketPay LLC. She can be reached via email at chometh@rocket-pay.com, via office phone at 978.255.3109, via wireless at 978.807.5047 and via direct at 978.462.3459, via the web at www.rocket-pay.com, via Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/RocketPay/142009625847128, via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/rocketpay-llc. She regularly tweets at: http://twitter.com/rocketpay.

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