Ecommerce Spending, Online Sales Tax, and Holiday Promos

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, and the official start of the holiday shopping season close behind, we know that this time of the year is a busy one for many ecommerce merchants.

With that in mind, today’s ecommerce news briefs focus on ecommerce spending statistics, a proposed online sales tax bill currently before the US Senate, and last but not least, a chance for our merchants to have their stores included in our forthcoming Holiday Season Store Promotion here on our blog.

Ecommerce Spending In US Reaches $36.3 Billion

According to comScore, ecommerce spending in the US is up 13%, which translates into $36.3 billion.

The spending growth, says comScore, correlates directly with an increase in the number of online consumers, which increased 70% compared to Q2 of this year.

Top online product categories include computer software, electronics, online event tickets, and jewelry.

Marketplace Fairness Act Now Before Senate

While the issue of online sales tax collection continues to be a hotly debated one, a bill that has gained support from Amazon and other online retailers, was introduced to the Senate today.

If passed, the Marketplace Fairness Act would exempt retailers with less than $500,000 in annual sales from having to collect sales tax from customers in states where the retailer does not have a physical presence.  Retailers that exceed this revenue amount annually would be required to collect sales tax from all customers, regardless of whether or not the retailer has a physical presence in a state or not.

While the proposed bill does have the support of several major online retailers, as well as the National Retail Federation and the Retail Industry Leaders Association, other companies and organizations including Ebay and the Direct Marketing Association, feel that the bill unfairly expands Internet sales tax burdens.

Time will tell as to whether the bill receives enough support and ultimately enough votes to pass, but in the meantime, we will continue to keep you updated.

Miva Merchant Holiday Season Store Promotions

If you own an ecommerce store that sells Thanksgiving and/or Christmas themed and related products, we want to hear from you!  As we did back in October, we will soon be promoting select stores here on our blog leading up to Christmas.

If you’d like to participate, you can do so in one of two ways:

• Email me (atalbott @ mivamerchant.com ) with the name and URL of your store
• Leave a comment below with your info