Nearly 8 of 10 web retailers (78.2%) – among chain retailers, catalog companies, virtual merchants and consumer brand manufacturers – plan to increase their spending on e-commerce applications and services this year, according to an Internet Retailer survey of e-commerce technology spending intentions.
According to the survey data:
- 10.1% expect to spend as much as 50% more on e-commerce technology this year.
- 9.4% will increase their spending from 26-50%, and 41.9% say between 11% and 25%.
- 34.5% say their expenditures for new systems and services will grow 10% or less.
- 46% say the main technology-buying decision-maker is the CEO; 11.6% say the CMO, and 11.1% say the CIO.
- A new e-commerce platform is the top priority for 28.8% of companies, followed by web analytics at 14.7% and site search software at 13.6%.
- Tied for fourth on the list of priorities are new order management and customer relationship management applications, each with 8.7%.
- Purchasing a new e-commerce platform within six months is a top objective for 23.4% of all companies.
- 14.4% plan to purchase a new platform in six months to a year; 16% within two years, and 6.4% in more than two years.
- Some 29.4% of respondents say they will purchase a new web analytics program in the next 12 months; 13.4% say within two years, and 2.7% say in more than two years.
- 44.7% of retailers expect to purchase a new order management system within 24 months – 16.5% say by the end of the year or in early 2008, and 28.2% within two years.
- Site search applications are also a priority: 24.9% of retailers in the survey plan to purchase an advanced site search program within six months, and 32.2% in six months to two years.
- To better organize and present product text and images and deliver interactive content:
- 30.3% of web merchants expect to acquire more rich media applications within a year, including 14.9% within six months.
- 27.6% anticipate implementing a new content management system within 12 months and 15.3% within one to two years.
- 72.3% of retailers use a third party to host their website, and 46.3% use a third-party application or service to monitor performance.
- 60.6% of retailers have no plans to replace their web hosting company.
- Of the 46.3% that use a third-party performance-monitoring tool or service, 44.3% expect to make a change within 24 months, including 27.3% within 12 months.
- 41% of merchants expect to hire a consultant or other outside help to assist with a major e-commerce project within the next year.
- Among such projects:
- 51% of retailers ranked adding customer reviews as their highest new e-commerce technology priority for this year
- 33.3% want to display information when a mouse is moved over an image.
