Online Sales For Businesses Are Bright Spot For The Entire Year.
Estimates from businesses showed an impressive rate of growth for their online sales in 2003.

Atlanta - New York(PRWEB) December 29 2003--Redfern's preliminary estimates from online businesses showed an impressive rate of growth for their online sales in 2003. "We're seeing record growth for online business across the board for our clients and customers," Michael Holland, at Redfern Services, Inc. in Atlanta, was quoted. The number one factor customers cited for doing business with them was convenience, informative product comparisons, live online support, and ease of use. “Customers that updated their sites and implemented search optimization saw the biggest increase in their online business this year. Online sales this year were up over 40 percent over 2002. And, projections for 2004 are estimating an increase of another 30 to 45 percent," Holland added.

Indeed, Forrester Research estimated online sales between Thanksgiving and Christmas soared 42 percent over last year to $12.2 billion. A report last week by Goldman, Sachs, Harris Interactive and Nielsen NetRatings showed that online shoppers spent 2.95 billion dollars during the second week in December, an increase of 48 percent from 2002.

On the day before Christmas, Amazon reported 70,000 gift certificates were ordered. And on December 15, a record 630,000 people visited the site during one 60-minute period, the company said. Other reports indicated that Amazon at its peak was selling 24 items a second. Sales at Amazon.com, eBay and other online retailers soared by over 40 percent this year, the Washington Post reported.

At one time, consumers were afraid of using their credit cards over the Internet but are realizing that it is no more dangerous to give your credit card to a waitress than use it over the Internet. Separately, Jupiter Research found 40 percent of people it polled in a survey said they planned to do some of their shopping on the Internet this year, up 18 percent from a year ago.

Online businesses and retailers are touting better security, customer service, easier-to-use navigation, integrated CRM, and better search tools. A boom in high-speed Internet access is one of the main reasons, with over 15.5 million connections nationwide, up by 45 percent from last year. Encouraged offers of free shipping and increased speed for computer access, more consumers shopped online and fewer are climbing in their cars to stand in line at crowded shopping malls, experts said.

The apparel/clothing category is followed by toys/video games, nearly $1.6 billion, up 27 percent; consumer electronics, nearly $1.4 billion, up 12 percent; videos/DVDs, $1.2 billion, up 89 percent; and books, $1 billion, up 33 percent. Other big sales categories were in wholesale goods, travel, B2B, and telecommunications goods and services, according to the preliminary reports.

About Redfern

Redfern has been providing internet consulting, web development, web design, branding, application development, digital marketing, system integration, CRM and many other scalable business solutions for B2B, B2C and B2E since 1999. Redfern is a privately held woman-owned business enterprise (WBE) headquartered in Atlanta. Premiere companies rely on Redfern's skilled consultants, engineers, designers, and developers everyday. Redfern combines proven technical expertise, project management, and development methodology to help corporations; non-profit organizations, businesses, and government organizations leverage intergraded solutions to increase ROI. Additional information regarding Redfern may be obtained at http://www.redfern.net or by contacting 1.800.345.6975.

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