Cross-channel shopping (researching online, buying offline) sales will be $1.3 trillion and will account for nearly 50% of total retail sales by 2013 in the USA. This says the Forrester Report, “US Online Sales Forecast: 2008-2013”, published on 2nd February 2009.
The question to be answered now is not only in which extent will be favoured the cross-channel shopping from online to offline, but also how many sales will start at an offline shop and finally will be carried out at an online shop because buying the same product on the net is far cheaper.
Specially now that eBay has launched its scanning app and that online discount coupon companies with small and medium local retail partners, like Groupon and LivingSocial are being integrated into the Google, and Amazon platforms. eBay has also improved its local reach through the purchase of Milo.
On 22nd November eBay launched a mobile app allowing repeat sellers scan a product and list it on eBay in 60 seconds or less. The app allows shoppers scan products to find the best deals virtually anywhere, anytime.
Google entered the online bargains market through the purchase of Groupon last week.
Then, on 2nd December eBay bought Milo, an online shopping site with more than 140 retail partners, including nearly 90 small and medium-sized businesses.
eBay plans to integrate Milo’s local product feeds both into its online marketplace and its mobile applications, providing accurate, real-time product pricing and local product availability inventory. eBay’s barcode-scanning iPhone application RedLaser will soon be available with the addition of Milo local results.
LivingSocial, a direct competiror of Groupon, announced on 2nd December that it had secured a $175 million investment from Amazon and another $8 million from Lightspeed Venture Partners.
LivingSocial is including other product and service segments (by acquiring adventure company Urban Escapes and launching three new verticals including LivingSocial Family Edition, Campus Deals and LivingSocial Escapes). LivingSocial also is expanding globally thanks to the purchase of a controlling stake in Jump On It, an Australian company reaching five countries.
Groupon was already global, but has announced the the launch of Groupon Hong Kong, Groupon Singapore, Groupon Philippines and Groupon Taiwan thanks to tehe purchase of uBuyiBuy, Beeconomic and Atlaspost. All those companies will be added to Groupon Japan, which was launched in August 2010.
Taking into account all these facts, the cross chanel sales from offline to online (window shopping) could well become a global trend, specially if they combine with a rising number of Internet searches carried out from mobile phones.
According to comScore Inc., eBay handled more than 2Bn U.S. product searches in the third quarter of 2010. Amazon managed 847 million, while Google handled 226 million product searches over the same period.
The time will let us see in which extent will change the online search for products landscape in future after the latest movements by eBay, Amazon and Google.
Image over the headline.- © Eastwind
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