US E-Commerce Growth Is Now Far Outpacing Overall Retail Sales

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U.S. E-COMMERCE GROWTH: Online retail spending grew 14% in 2013, according to a report released today from comScore. For comparison, total consumer retail spending in the U.S. grew by mere single-digits. Although the majority of e-commerce spending still occurs on PCs, mobile's share is growing significantly faster. These findings support data we've analyzed from the U.S. Census and other sources. To find out which retailers are taking advantage of this new world of online commerce, check out our slide deck "The Future of Retail." (comScore)

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MOBILE COMMERCE WILL HAVE ITS DAY: Although most online purchases still occur via PCs, Digiday believes commerce will be among the industries most affected by the rise of mobile. Global e-commerce sales made via mobile devices are expected to top $638 billion in 2018, according to a forecast from Goldman Sachs. For perspective, that was roughly the entire size of the world's e-commerce market in 2013. Goldman predicts that tablets, not smartphones, will be the primary drivers of mobile commerce growth. (Digiday)

CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS: Today is day two of the Ad Age Digital Conference in New York City. Among today's events is a presentation by Michael Georgeoff, VP of new products at RetailMeNot, who will be speaking about mobile as a marketing channel for retailers. (Ad Age)

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QUOTE OF THE DAY: "On Black Friday, over half of our traffic came from mobile devices." - Brian Monahan, VP of Marketing at Wal-Mart, speaking at the Ad Age Digital Conference.

WELCOME, E-COMMERCE INSIDERS: This is our new newsletter covering all things e-commerce. Please email csmith@businessinsider.com with news and tips. Click here to sign up for E-Commerce Insider today, and receive it every morning in your inbox.

BEAUTY IN CHINA: Beauty retailers, such as those that sell cosmetics, have been slow to adopt an e-commerce strategy that is specific to China. Thirty-two percent of top beauty retailers fail to have a Chinese-language site (including big names such as Calvin Klein, Dior, Gucci, and Chanel). These retailers are missing out on an opportunity to capture more sales in China; 20% of cosmetics sales in the country occur online, compared to just 5% that do in the U.S. (L2 Think Tank)

E-COMMERCE IMPACTS NIGERIA'S GDP: Nigeria's e-commerce market has grown 25% annually pretty consistently, and is beginning to have a significant impact on the country's GDP. However, like most African countries, the growth is only sustainable so long as more people gain access to the Internet. African and Middle Eastern regions are among the least developed markets in e-commerce, and so many in the industry are watching those areas closely. (Ventures Africa)

STUDY - MOBILE TAKES ONE-THIRD OF ALL ONLINE SALES: A new study finds 32% of all online purchases are made over mobile devices. "Making mobile payments faster and easier is a big driver for the types of mobile technology that are being developed," says Electronic Transactions Association CEO Jason Oxman. (Payments Cards & Mobile)

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NEW DATA SHOWS APP USE OVERTAKING MOBILE WEB: Mobile analytics firm Flurry measured overall time spent on U.S. iOS and Android devices to find that app usage now takes up 86% of mobile time spent. That's up from an 80% share in 2013. Growing app usage comes at the expense of the mobile Web, which now makes up just 14% of mobile time spent. In total, the average U.S. mobile user spent 2 hours and 42 minutes per day on their device. (Flurry)

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THE FUTURE OF RETAIL: 2014 [SLIDE DECK]

One In Three Online Retailers Still Lack A Mobile-Optimized Website