Retail e-commerce spending has increased throughout the last few years. At the end of 2008 we saw a decrease in spending due to a declining economy that continued to fall throughout 2009. However, 2010 was a turning point when spending increased and sales grew. According to Internet Retailer, the sales of the Top 500 retailers grew 18% to $150 billion in 2010 from $127.1 billion in 2009. Furthermore, comScore released online spending estimates for Q1 2011, up 12% to $38 billion compared to a year ago. This quarter represented the sixth consecutive quarter of positive gains. 

The online channel remains the fastest growing segment in the retailing industry. In Canada alone, e-commerce spending is expected to double by 2015 to 3.9 billion. Forrester research estimates that U.S. retail sales is expected to grow by 10% each year to $279 billion by 2015.

 

 

Global e-commerce sales are also growing at rapid rate, at an estimated 19% a year. According to Goldman Sachs, worldwide e-commerce sales will reach $1 trillion by 2013.