Undeniably, online shopping has grown substantially over the past few years. Retailers have used the internet to promote flash sales, distribute emails to customers, and complete online transactions. However, industry professionals have predicted that 2013 will produce a significant consumer shift to online purchasing. As a result, retailers need to invest even more in their online presence in order to keep up with competitors and attract more customers.
Advertising is a large portion of establishing a successful online presence. Advertising dollars have to flow to where the people are, and there are currently over 1.9 billion 
Internet users. Many companies are taking note of this shift and are relocating their budget accordingly. Online advertising revenues also grew 18% year-over-year in Q3 2012 according to a report published by the Internet Advertising Bureau.
The fast rise of the online consumer community has resulted in a decline in television viewers. One company that has successfully transitioned from television to online advertising is Ford. While other reputable companies spent thousands of dollars to advertise during the Super Bowl, Ford made the decision to promote the Ford Fiesta online instead. The result was a 22% increase in sales, which is two times the growth of the auto industry altogether.
The trend of advertising online will continue as consumers spend less time in front of their televisions and more time on the internet. For example, 18-24 year olds watched a weekly average of 22 hours and 32 minutes of television in Q2 of 2012, which is about 1 hour and 45 minutes less than they watched in Q2 2011. That results in an average trend of approximately 15 minutes less a day in television viewing.
However, before you decide to shift your retail efforts to the internet, it is important to ensure that you build the proper foundation to support an increase in online traffic. If you do not have an adequate internet service to support your online efforts, users may have a negative experience while visiting your site. The last thing you want is for your site to crash while customers are viewing it or shopping online.
As more consumers move out of the malls and onto the Internet, it is critical for retailers to build their online presence. Retailers need to take their site design, impact, and technical capabilities into consideration before creating a website. You may have a great looking webpage, but if it is extremely slow or unreliable, customers are not likely to return.
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Blog posted by: Vanessa Hartung
Resources:
Dealerscope: Retail Predictions and Convictions for 2013
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