Online-Retail Spending at $200 Billion Annually and Growing

Americans spent more than $200 billion on online shopping in 2011 and are expected to spend $327 billion through Internet stores by 2016.

That’s the estimate from a report by Forrester Research analyst Sucharita Mulpuru, who also predicts that online sales will make up almost 9% of overall retail sales by 2016, up from 7% today. Driving much of that growth are the usual suspects: new Web-shopping converts and current online shoppers spending more. A majority of the U.S. population, 53%, bought something online in 2011. That figure should grow to 58% by 2016, Forrester said. Relatively recent innovations are also contributing to the rise of online retailing, Forrester said. Flash-sale sites such as Gilt Groupe, which sells heavily discounted luxury goods during sales that typically last for only a few days, have appealed to the frugal. Online-loyalty programs such as Amazon’s Prime shipping service have risen in popularity, with 12% of Web shoppers now belonging to one, up from 9% during the 2010 holiday season. And the rise of tablet computers such as Apple’s iPad have also helped, in part because the layout of tablet-optimized retailing websites spurs impulse purchases, Forrester said.