Shop.org released its 12th annual report on the state of online retailing conducted by Forrester Research. The survey of 117 online retailers found that, while the number of companies focusing on customer retention has nearly doubled in the past year, many retailers see the recession as an opportunity to capture market share from weakened competition.

According to the survey, a majority of retailers (88%) list email as a high priority for the year, largely to retain customers. Almost three-fourths of retailers (71%) plan to send segmented emails to customers based on stated preferences or purchase data. In addition, more than half will use emails that highlight new product availability (55%), extend invitations to participate in surveys or garner customer feedback (55%), and feature online-only promotions (53%).

Half of survey respondents (54%) expect overall retail growth to slow during the next 12 months and 57 percent acknowledge the economic slowdown is hurting their company's bottom line. That said, companies are bullish about web operations: four out of five retailers think the web is better suited than other channels to withstand the recession, and one-third say the downturn has enabled them to capture greater market share. Illustrating the resilience of the web, retailers report that their conversion rates continue to hover between 3 percent and 3.5 percent as they have for years.

"The State Of Retailing Online 2009: Marketing Report," the first of a three-part series of reports based on the study, was released in conjunction with Shop.org's Online Marketing Workshop in Scottsdale, AZ.

http://www.shop.org/soro