Exclusive: 42% of online retailers plan to boost their technology investments this year

The survey results: Over two-fifths (42%) of ecommerce executives expect to aggressively spend on their businesses this year by adding staff, boosting their marketing budgets, and investing in technology and infrastructure upgrades, per a survey conducted on behalf of CommerceNext exclusively shared with Insider Intelligence.

• That share jumps to 50% among smaller companies with less than $50 million in annual online revenues.

The context: Those aggressive growth plans come on the heels of a strong close to 2023. Core retail sales during the holiday season rose 3.8% year-over-year (YoY), per NRF analysis of US Commerce Department data, and online and nonstore sales rose 8.2% YoY.

• Nearly three in 10 survey respondents (29%) say their Q4 online sales were up over 10% YoY.
• That helps explain why 57% feel positive about their prospects for this year, including one-fifth (20%) of whom feel “very positive.”

The big takeaway: Retailers’ investment plans are notable given that many companies pulled back on that type of spending over the past year as interest rates shot up.

• But with inflation waning, many expect the US Federal Reserve to cut rates this year. Goldman Sachs economists, for example, expect five cuts this year.
• With consumers feeling increasingly positive about the economy, and their spending power on the rise, there’s good reason for optimism about the year ahead.
• That’s why our US retail commerce sales forecast expects ecommerce sales to rise 10.1% this year, and overall retail sales to increase 3.3%.