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Online shoppers — wooed(1) by new sites like Gap Inc.'s shoe site piperlime.com, enhanced merchandise images and such come-ons(2) as free shipping — spent more on clothing and accessories than on computers for the first time ever, according to an annual industry study released Monday.
Online sales of apparel(3), accessories and footwear reached $18.3 billion last year and should hit $22.1 billion this year, according to the Shop.org survey conducted by Internet research firm Forrester Research.
Meanwhile, computer hardware and software, long the leader for nontravel online sales, moved into second place last year, at $17.2 billion. That was followed by sales of autos and auto parts, whose sales reached $16.7 billion, and home furnishings, which posted sales of $10 billion. Computer peripherals(4), which reached $1.5 billion in sales last year, were not included in the hardware and software category.
"This is a real milestone in the industry," said Scott Silverman, executive director of Shop.org, noting that the popularity of apparel online is now in line with what's happening on land. "We have really gone mainstream."
Silverman and Sucharita Mulpuru, senior analyst and lead author of the report, noted that new technology that mimics shopping at physical stores such as the ability to mix and match clothing and zoom in on a pattern has faciliated online shopping. Furthermore, a growing number of apparel sites are now adding customer reviews, which help shoppers in their decision making.
A bevy of(5) new shoe sites like piperlime.com, which offers free shipping on returns, is also providing a boost to the online footwear business.
The study reported that 10 percent of all clothing, accessories and footwear sales are expected to occur online this year, up from 8 percent last year. And overall online retail sales excluding travel should account for 7 percent of the total retail market in 2007, up from 6 percent.
Still, the study noted that the top challenges to even greater growth include the delay between ordering and receiving most products and the fact that consumers often need to physically see an item before buying. While several merchants have rolled out the ability to buy online and pick up the merchandise at a store, few have succeeded in making this a seamless(6) process. In many cases, stores will call back with availability more than 24 hours after the order was placed, negating(7) the program's goal of giving shoppers immediate access to the merchandise, according to the report.
1. woo：引诱
2. come-on：诱惑
3. apparel：服饰
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根据周一发布的年度行业研究显示 网络购物爱好者在衣服以及饰品上的花费首次超过在电脑方面的花费。他们热衷商品图片丰富清晰而且有酬宾免费货运的网站，比如Gap旗下的售鞋网站piperlime.com。
根据因特网研究公司Forrester Research支持的Shop.org调查显示，去年服装、饰品和鞋类的销售额达到183亿美元，今年预计达到221亿美元。
同时，销售额长期占非旅游首位的电脑硬件软件以172亿美元的成绩退居第二。第三位是汽车和汽车零部件，销售额为167亿；第四位是家居，销售额为100亿。电脑外部设备去年销售额为15亿，并未计入硬件软件行列。
Shop.org执行总裁Scott Silverman说：“这真是一座行业里程碑”。他认为服饰在线销售的流行符合大趋势发展。“这就是主流”。
Silverman和高级分析师、本报告主要作者Sucharita Mulpuru说新科技能够模仿实体店铺，允许消费者在线搭配不同服装、放大图片细节，使在线购物更加容易。而且越来越多的服饰网站增加顾客评价服务，帮助顾客抉择。
很多新的售鞋网站如piperlime.com还提供酬宾免费邮递，大大促进了鞋类生意繁荣。
研究显示，今年服装、饰品和鞋类销售的百分之十都可能发生在网络交易中，比去年高出两个百分点。预计2007年零售业，除旅游外，百分之七的销售额都将被在线销售揽走，比去年高出一个百分点。
但是研究也指出扩大在线销售仍存在很多问题，例如订货和收货之间的时间拖延、很多消费者需要在购买前见到实物等。有些店家允许顾客在网上订货，然后去实体店取货，但是此过程中极其容易出现问题。很多时候店家在顾客订货24小时之后才能确认，顾客希望立刻收到商品的愿望就无法实现了。
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| 中国国际广播电台 译 |
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4. peripheral：外围设备，如与计算机连接工作的打印机、调制解调器或存储系统
5. a bevy of：一组，一群
6. seamless：天衣无缝的
7. negate：否定、打消
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