Copyright © 2015, Forrester Research, Inc.
U.S. companies will nearly double their spending on e-commerce technology between now and the end of the decade, according to Forrester Research’s US Commerce Platform Technology And Services Forecast, 2014 To 2019 report.
Forrester expects spending to grow at an average rate of 12 percent, from $1.2 billion this year to $2.1 billion in 2019 — overall growth of 75 percent.
One the main drivers will be the worldwide growth in consumer spending online — Forrester expects e-commerce in developed countries to grow to $1.64 trillion in 2018. In addition to that overall spending growth, though, there’s a technology issue that’ll drive more spending on e-commerce systems. The report says some of this spending will be driven by companies upgrading existing technology, including those that are using in-house commerce tools.
Of manufacturing, retail, and wholesale firms using commerce technology, 13% are still using homegrown commerce technologies. These homegrown platforms represent significant scalability, compliance, and maintainability risks for their operators. The drive to replace such solutions with more nimble and highly scalable software is accelerating investment in commercial commerce platforms.
The authors also say many e-business companies will be looking to upgrade and possibly replace third-party solutions they’re currently using. Between 2000 and 2010, e-commerce platforms had a seven year average life expectancy; today, they say companies that host their own e-commerce platforms will need to update as often as every four years.
Mobile will be another driving factor behind the increased spending in e-commerce tech, as retailers will seek to make sure their platforms are able to take advantage of the growth in mobile-based shopping.
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