U.S. E-Commerce Technology Spending Fuels Growth in Web Analytics and Customer Service

CHICAGO, Dec. 15, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- According to an exclusive Internet Retailer survey conducted this past summer, 86% of e-retailers plan to increase their e-commerce technology spending in 2016 to enhance the design, functionality and traffic of their retail websites. The survey results are in line with a February 2015 forecast by Forrester Research Inc. that predicted spending on e-commerce technology—which includes software licensing, subscriptions and support and maintenance fees—in the United States will grow 12% per year, from $1.2 billion in 2014 to $2.1 billion in 2019. Over the same period, associated e-commerce implementation and support spending will grow from $5.1 billion to just less than $10 billion.

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How e-retailers choose their solutions providers will play a big part in determining how effectively they compete in the online market. One resource developed to help address that challenge is the all-new and expanded 495-page Internet Retailer 2016-2017 Guide to E-Commerce Technology, published today. Now in its sixth edition, this digital resource organizes 1,737 listings of e-commerce vendors (or 1,633 companies, as several companies are listed in more than one category) across 30 technology and services categories, providing easy access to valuable research that is designed to be every e-retailer's first step in the search for e-commerce solutions. Data from the Guide show that vendors specializing in web analytics grew 36% year over year and those providing customer service applications grew 27% during the same period. Those big increases reflect a growing emphasis among e-retailers on how to differentiate themselves from their competitors.

Each vendor listing details the year it was established, what it does within its area of expertise, who its major retail clients are and its entry-level pricing. Additionally, the Guide contains the names and company contact information of 5,830 executives at the leading e-commerce technology and services vendors in the U.S.

"The Guide also serves as a gold mine of competitive intelligence and business development for the solutions providers themselves," says Jack Love, Internet Retailer publisher. "They can see at a glance what their rivals charge for base and entry-level products, who their customers are and other key facts. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of competitors is the key to protecting one's market and seizing opportunities in others. The 2016-2017 Guide to E-Commerce Technology provides just that type of knowledge," he says.

The 2016-2017 Guide to E-Commerce Technology is available in a 495-page Digital Edition.

For research information, contact: Bill Briggs, Managing Editor, Production & Special Projects, Internet Retailer, at 312.362.0084 or [email protected].

For media inquiries, contact: Anna Applegate, corporate marketing communications, Internet Retailer, at 312.572.6264 or [email protected]. 

ABOUT INTERNET RETAILER®

The flagship brand of Chicago-based e-commerce publisher Vertical Web Media, Internet Retailer® provides comprehensive e-commerce business intelligence through print and digital channels, including a monthly magazine, several research guides, websites, online databases, webinars and e-mail newsletters. Internet Retailer, launched in March 1999, is the largest e-retailing monthly magazine with 44,500 subscribers. InternetRetailer.com is the most-visited informational website in e-commerce featuring daily industry news and market analysis. The site attracts more than 205,000 unique monthly visitors and is also available in Mandarin for the Chinese e-commerce market at dianshang500.com. IRNewsLink, a daily e-commerce newsletter, is sent to more than 44,000 subscribers.

SOURCE Internet Retailer