Online Shopping Could Reach $327 Billion by 2016

Online spending is expected to grow by more than 10% annually each year for the next five years, a report published by ForresterResearch suggests. At that rate, Americans will be spending $327 billion online by 2016.

The report attributes much of the expected future growth to benefits from retailers’ investments in web site and ecommerce improvements. “This is particularly true of categories such as apparel and jewelry, which have integrated rich selling tools such as zoom, color swatching, and configurators,” explained Sucharita Mulpuru, an analyst with Forrester.

The increasing popularity of smartphones and tablets, as well as the proliferation of online deals, flash sales, loyalty programs and free shipping offers from merchants will also contribute to rising online spending for American consumers, Internet Retailer explains.