Shoppers Now Make More than Half of Purchases Online

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A recent survey by comScore and UPS shows that shoppers now make 51% of their purchases online. This is the first time in the survey’s history where online purchases outweigh those made in a store.

As eCommerce grows in popularity, it also means more consumers are making these purchases with smartphones. (The survey showed that 44% of those who use smartphones bought items through their mobile devices.)

This has been a big wakeup call for retailers, especially traditional department stores like Macy’s, Nordstrom and J.C. Penney who have all reported a drop in sales, reports Fortune.

One of their biggest competitors is Amazon. As traditional store sales continue to plummet, Amazon’s eCommerce revenue rose 15.8% in the last year. Additionally, these stores are losing out to specialty stores and there has been a simultaneous, constant drop in shopper traffic to malls.

So What’s a Retailer to Do?

The obvious solution is to invest in an eCommerce solution – but even more so, that solution should be reliable, convenient and easy to navigate, regardless of the device. Customers won’t use the online shopping interface otherwise.

What about a Consumer’s Internet Connection?

While an e-retailer can’t control the reliability of a customer’s wireless internet connection, fortunately, mobile carriers are working to alleviate this issue.

Sprint Corp., for example, invested $150 million in infrastructure, hired 1,000 employees and recently opened 200 stores in Chicago to develop a faster network with more capacity, reports Internet Retailer.

They’re calling this network LTE Plus and it’s two times faster than what Sprint currently offers. Once Sprint finishes testing, they will roll LTE Plus out to consumers as part of the next software upgrade.

Learn How i3 Commerce Technology can Help You Optimize Your eCommerce Solution:

Contact i3 Commerce Technology online or call 1-800-621-8931.

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