ActivMEDIA Research and Kalorama Information LLC released findings from a new
study that shows that “Premium Specialty Goods” e-commerce sites expect to
have average sales for 1999 that are 10 times those of 1998.
Merchants are somewhat more cautious in revenue projections for 2000,
anticipating a quadrupling of revenues over the current year. The category
includes gourmet food, personal care, branded consumer products and other
related goods.
The study, entitled, “Online Marketing Practices For Premium Specialty Goods:
Business Development Tools, Models, Strategies,” is based on research
conducted by ActivMEDIA Research and was commissioned by Kalorama Information
as a qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the market.
Research topics include Web site spending, sales across the Internet, brand
strategies for selling on the Web, changing demographics, industry growth and
the future of selling Premium Specialty Goods online.
According to ActivMEDIA Research, the majority of such retail Web sites are
already profitable in 1999. Revenues are growing rapidly and Web site
investment continues unabated, the report said. While one in four sites (23%)
keep
expenditures modest and under $1,000 for the year, half (51%) will spend
between $1,000 and $10,000; another one in eight will spend between $10,000
and $100,000. A final one in twelve anticipates investing more than $100,000
to stay in the forefront of e-commerce.
Also, the demographics of today’s Web visitor are broadening, the report
said. Web visitors are twice as likely to be female as they were three or
four years ago. Fewer
are in the 35-54 age groups, while the proportion of young adults under 25
and mature adults over 50 has risen sharply in recent months. Newest
online arrivals are also more likely to be single.
The report is priced at $2,895 and is available from ActivMedia Research, a market research
and consulting company specializing in e-commerce, and Kalorama Information, a publisher and
distributor of marketing intelligence reports.
