"Online Shopping to Plateau As Slump Hits Cyberspace

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122764819199157439.html
"Online Shopping to Plateau As Slump Hits Cyberspace"
-from The Wall Street Journal Online

An article written by Christopher Lawton, entitled "Online Shopping to Plateau As Slump Hits Cyberspace", discusses the current economic situation and its impact on online retailers, as found by the market research firm comScore Inc. According to comScore, these retailers are facing stagnant numbers, rather than the growth they are used to. For the first 23 days of November, sales numbers had decreased by 4% from the year before. Also, October saw only a 1% increase, when in the past, double-digit increases were the norm. The research firm predicts that in November and December, these sales numbers will be the same as last year. Andrew Lipsman, a senior manager at comScore thinks that the current decline in numbers is due to Holiday shoppers who are waiting to shop when they think they can get better deals. He, along with online retailers, hope this is the case. In a study of Holiday shoppers, 46% said they would buy gifts that were less-expensive, and 47% said they planned on buying fewer gifts to save money. The sales in previous months this year have held up well before October, growing 9% from the previous year.
I found this article most interesting in the fact that the current economic "crisis" we have all been hearing about hasn't hit online shopping until recently. With all the news about decreased spending, I'm surprised this decrease or slowdown did not occur sooner. It seems as though many items that are purchased online are also those that would not be considered "necessities", which also aids to my surprise at this delay. I am not sure that Holiday sales will pick up, and this idea seems optimistic to me. I know many people, personally, who are cutting back on gift-giving this year, along with hearing of others who are participating in the same trend. Perhaps a drastic decrease in gas prices has also contributed to the lack in online sales, as people may feel they can actually drive to the store to purchase the item rather than spend the money on shipping.