With almost a full month behind us, we’re getting a clear picture of what the e-commerce industry will look like in 2009. The Web appears to remain a bright spot in this beastly economy, and there’s evidence that brands are continuing to invest both in long-term solutions and fast-to-market tools that help them quickly deliver more rewarding customer experiences. Forrester Research has attested to this in recent reports, and just this week Brian Walker, a senior analyst at Forrester, posted his take on “Ten Themes for 2009: eCommerce Technology.”

Brian commented on some interesting themes for this year, including:
• SaaS commerce going mainstream
• BtoB platform demand picking way up
• BtoC platform demand remaining quite healthy
• Automated recommendations will become completely ubiquitous

What particularly stood out for us is that he draws a parallel between what he anticipates will happen with automated recommendations technologies in 2009, and what took place with ratings and reviews features in 2007.

“Predictive merchandising becomes ubiquitous, and the crowd begins to separate. “Predictive merchandising” is also referred to as “automated merchandising” or “personalized product recommendations”. Whatever term you like (or are marketing) we will see this area are the “product reviews of 2007”, where we go from stepped up interest and demand to a default feature. The incumbent concerns and cultural hesitations of merchants and marketers will be replaced with an enthusiasm for the improved customer experience and ROI. Many retailers (and the vendors) will be picking off low-hanging fruit and seeing some good results even from the lesser solutions (to start). Meanwhile the crowd of solutions will begin to separate as the vendors with traction and profits outlast, out-market, and out-invest the start-ups.”

Brian notes that automated recommendations will be a favored e-commerce feature given immediate needs to heighten the customer experience and demonstrate real ROI. With maybe a little less to spend this year, businesses are looking to quickly increase revenue by boosting the value of their brand with cost effective tools that they can implement quickly. Creating a unique, distinctive, and personal online experience is an essential component to extending customer loyalty and weathering out the shaky economic storm. Individual, relevant product recommendations will significantly improve conversion rates and create a better, more relevant experience for customers.

With the lagging economy comes a shift in consumer behavior. Survey results reported in the Wall Street Journal show that consumers are doing their online research for both products and brands; even when it comes to buying shampoo. Over 90% of consumers say they trust the information found online more than the answers they get from salesclerks and other sources. From the article:

“An astonishing 70% of Americans now say they consult product reviews or consumer ratings before they make their buying decisions. Sixty-two percent say they spend at least 30 minutes online every week to help them decide what and whether to buy. Among Americans under 45, that number shoots up to 73%. Seventy-three percent — that’s more than four times the percentage in that age group who go to church every week. For some, smart shopping is more than a hobby. It’s a religion.”

So there’s a real opportunity for retailers and brands to build trust with their customers by giving them more of the online content they crave, including customer ratings and reviews, detailed product information, comparisons, and more.

Happy New Year! As we all return to work and get back into routines, we wanted to share some early holiday e-commerce results from shop.org, Forrester Research, and ComScore. While no one can deny the challenges of the current global economy, to put it mildly, e-commerce appears to still be a bright spot. Early returns show that many retailers this holiday season did see increases in online sales, compared to last year.

New research from a survey by Shop.org and Forrester Research found that 63% of 84 retailers reported a year-over-year rise in sales Nov. 1 through Dec. 21. Among multi-channel retailers surveyed, 62% said Web sales increased.

Separate research from ComScore revealed that in certain key holiday categories, online sales outperformed offline retail sales. Categories such as apparel and consumer electronics, online sales fared better than offline.