Why bother with the Internet as a sales tool? Because, increasingly, it is the way the world is doing business. Last month International Data Corp. released a report that shows that Internet business worldwide will generate more than $1 trillion in revenue by 2003. The U.S. Department of Commerce also recently reported that almost half of the American work force will work for a technology-related company by 2006. Need some more persuading? Take a look at the following facts and figures:
· The number of days Internet users accessed the Web increased by nearly 20%, up from 10.2 days in May 1998 to 12.2 days in May 1999.
· Jay Walker of Priceline.com and Pierre Omidyar of eBay broke into the top 50 of Forbes' annual list of the world's working billionaires with net worths of $10.2 billion and $7.6 billion, respectively.
· Online retailers in the United States and Canada will collect $36.6 billion during 1999. This forecast is a 145% increase over 1998's revenues of $14.9 billion. Between 1998 and 1999 the number of orders received digitally increased 200% and the number of shoppers visiting online retail sites increased 300%
· Sixty-two percent of e-commerce revenues went to multi-channel retailers-that is, those that have both off- and online sites.
What do all these numbers mean? Well, they suggest that even though the volume of e-commerce as a percentage of total sales is not staggering, it may one day be. If businesses are seeing more Internet customers, that means customers are becoming more accustomed to shopping online. If one buys books online, clothes from an online catalog and airline tickets from an Internet service, it only stands to reason that one will look to other industries for the same kind of service. In the case of the automotive industry, people may not expect a new vehicle to come to their door via Federal Express but they will come to expect that much of the sales legwork can be done online.
From "Auto Retailing on the Web" July 1999. For a free copy of this issue, go to: http://www.dealersedge.com/free_issues.html
Mike Bowers is Managing Editor of WD&S Publishing, Metuchen, New Jersey, producers of the industry publications Auto Retailing on the Web, Dealer's Edge, Warranty Dollars & Sense, Fixed Coverage, and The Parts Manager. If you have specific questions or require more information about this subject, please check the appropriate box on the reader response form on page 3. mbowers@dealeronline.com