Internet Retailer 500 Guide

[mandy]

The Top 500: Key operating statistics

Industry concentration

The concentration of the e-retailing industry mirrors that of all retailing. The Top 500 e-retailers account for 61.3% of all online sales, but the top 100 dominate. The top 100 control 53% of retail web sales. By comparison the top 100 store-based retailers control more than 60% of all retail sales in the U.S., not including automobile and restaurant sales.

Web site traffic

In 2007 the Top 500 retail web sites received 1.88 billion average monthly visits. There are 188 million Internet users in the U.S., who visited an average of 10 retail sites each month in 2007.

Performance averages

The Top 500 retail sites recorded an estimated 456 million separate sales in 2007 with an average ticket across merchandise categories of $223. Sales conversions based on monthly visits vary widely, ranging from 0.3% to 10.75% for chain retailers, 0.65% to 31% for catalog/call center operators, 0.12% to 19% for web-only merchants and 0.25% to 10% for consumer brand manufacturers.

full article: http://www.internetretailer.com/article.asp?id=26556