Online retail growth slowing to 11% in 2009

Forrester Research projected the total to be spent online in 2009 at $156 billion, up from $141 billion last year, with growth slowing from 13 percent in 2008 and 18 percent the prior year.

Forrester Research projected the total to be spent online in 2009 at $156 bn, up from $141 bn last year, with growth slowing from 13 percent in 2008 and 18%the prior year.

E-commerce will slow this year to a growth rate of 11 percent as consumers cut back sharply on spending, according to research data released on Thursday.

Last year in January, Forrester projected that 2009 online sales would increase by 15 percent.

“The reason is obvious: falling consumer confidence due to the recession,” wrote Forrester analyst Sucharita Mulpuru in the report, which will be released in its entirety on Monday as part of a five-year forecast.

Online auctioneer and retailer eBay Inc declined last week to provide a forecast for the full year, given the uncertain environment, but a quarterly view fell short of Wall Street expectations.

Some analysts warn that a forecast from rival Amazon.com Inc, due to release earnings later Thursday, could also be worse than expected.

Still, the online sector continues to grow as more shoppers head online for convenience and the ability to compare bargains.

“Even as companies continue to struggle, the important take-away is that the Web is continuing to grow,” Mulpuru said. “It’s taking wallet share away from the rest of the retail world.”

Mulpuru pointed to brick-and-mortar companies like Best Buy Co Inc and Macy’s Inc whose online sales continue to grow despite weaker store sales.

“That’s pretty standard that the web divisions of all of these companies are faring much better than the rest of the business. Those are the ones grabbing disproportionate market share,” she said. “A lot of that is happening at the expense of smaller players who are not as branded or not as trustworthy or not as easy to find online.”