Holiday sales in 2014 look set to bring a bumper harvest for online vendors.
Channel Advisor, a cloud company, surveyed over 200 online shops in the UK and US with each averaging out $3 million to $5 million in 2013.
Redshift Research, which conducted the survey, said 86 percent of those surveyed expected to increase those sales this year.
Over a quarter of those surveyed expect an 11 to 15 percent while half expect an increase between one and 10 percent. Not one forecast a decline in their online sales.
And Christmas gets earlier by the year. Many plan to push sales in September but 20 percent already started their holiday season promotions in August.
The online shops claim customer services are important to drive sales. 41 percent will offer free shipping and returns. Most – 67 percent – said offering free shipping increases sales.
And there’s a push towards the companies increasing their digital marketing and advertising budgets this year.
