• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, September 16, 2013

According to a recent eMarketer projection, reported by Thad Rueter, Senior Editor for Internet Retailer, Electronic Commerce spending in the United States will increase about 15.1% year over year in November and December. Spending during those two months will total $61.8 billion, up from $53.7 billion in 2012. During the entire fourth quarter of 2013, U.S. online shoppers will spend $83.2 billion, up 15.5% over the same period last year, the report says.

The new projection is roughly in line with a recent e-commerce spending estimate from comScore, monitoring the online behavior of 2 million consumers. Last month, it said second quarter 2012 e-commerce spending increased 15.5% year over year; for the fourth quarter of 2012, the most recent holiday shopping period, comScore says online spending increased 14% year over year, compared with 15% for the entire year 2012. And, the U.S. Commerce Department, making its estimates based on quarterly surveys of U.S. retailers, says Q2 online spending increased 18.4% year over year in the second quarter.

The holiday e-commerce growth forecast by eMarketer represents the smallest quarterly gain for online spending in 2013. Year-over-year e-commerce growth in the first quarter of 2013 reached about 16.3%.

• in Q2, 18.4%
• in Q3, 16.0%, (projected)
• For 2013 as a whole, a 16.4% year-over-year increase projected

eMarketer vice president, Clark Fredricksen, says "… previous quarters of the year are expected to have higher growth rates than the fourth quarter…”

Mobile commerce will account for nearly 16%, or $41.68 billion, of the $262.30 billion that online shoppers are expected to spend this year in the United States, the report says. Earlier this year, eMarketer pegged the m-commerce share at 15%.

Consumers will do most of their mobile buying on tablets, the report adds. The devices will account for 62.5%, or $26.05 billion, of U.S. m-commerce this year, up from 56.2% last year. By 2017, tablets’ share will increase to 73%.

For additional  information, please visit here.