After posting an impressive string of yearly double-digit gains, indications are that online sales may be roughly flat this holiday season. While this slowdown in growth is partly symptomatic of the recession, it is also a sign that e-commerce development is facing a mature phase. The easy money of the fast-growth phase may be in the past, so it could take a renewed focus on e-commerce Web design and promotional tactics to earn the next phase of growth.

E-commerce sales were up 7 percent in the first week of December 2008, compared with the corresponding week a year earlier. Overall, e-commerce sales were flat for the November/December holiday shopping season up to that point. While this is a decline from past e-commerce growth rates, even this flat-to-modest-growth performance is a sign of strength in a recession. After all, overall retail sales are projected to shrink this holiday season for the first time in 23 years. In short, e-commerce sales are still well worth the battle.

Next Phase of the E-commerce Development Battle
The next phase of the battle may involve a more aggressive approach to capturing market share from competitors, rather than just riding a wave of overall fast growth. After all, the slowing of overall e-commerce growth rates is echoed by the individual experiences of many companies. After gaining a one-time pop form launching an e-commerce web site, in subsequent years those companies have to adopt new tactics to try to optimize that web site.

A recessionary environment only accelerates the onset of this new phase of the e-commerce development battle. That battle may have long-term consequences, so it is vital for companies that want to win to stay aggressive despite the recession.

E-commerce Development Tips for a Slow Economy
The following are some ideas for how a company should approach e-commerce developmentin a slow economy:

• This is still a good time to launch an e-commerce website. While its natural to defer some new projects during a recession, launching an e-commerce website should remain a priority. In December of 2007, online and mail-order sales totaled $23 billion, a figure approaching the $30.5 billion in traditional department store sales for the same month. With online sales growing more quickly, it is easy to foresee the figures crossing at some point. In other words, e-commerce is much too big a market to ignore.
• Make sure the e-commerce website design optimizes visits. Companies should introduce ecommerce website design elements that optimize visits, such as generating add-on sales suggestions and minimizing the number of clicks per transaction.
• Focus on the e-commerce websites return on investment (ROI). With less overhead, ecommerce sites should have a higher ROI than traditional retail outlets. With resources tight, this should be an important factor in guiding where a company puts its money.
• Offer incentives for orders via the e-commerce website. Given the higher ROI of e-commerce sales, a company should offer customers incentives to do business on its web site rather than in stores.
• Make discount options readily accessible on your e-commerce website. Companies should take the tight budgets of customers into consideration by reorganizing e-commerce website design to emphasize discount items.

Sources
Associated Press
Kansas City InfoZine
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
SoCalTech.com