Typical consumer e-commerce transaction now $244

[November 22nd 1999]

Web-based transactions are becoming major revenue streams for businesses across all industry sectors. The median e-commerce transaction is $300, but when you include very high-ticket Websites, the average value of all transactions jumps to $4,600! At Business to Business (B-to-B) Websites, the median transaction size is three to four times larger than at sites that cater to consumers. This data, consistent over the past two years of tracking research, is compiled in ActivMedia's annual "Real Numbers Behind 'Net Profits" study of e-commerce.

In terms of transaction size, there continue to be two "sweet spots" online - transactions of $100 to $500, and transactions at $1,000 to $10,000. Business to Consumer (B-to-C) transactions tend to be smaller than B-to-B - a three in five majority are for $500 or less, a third are under $100. For B-to-B, only one in ten are under $100, while a third are in the $100 to $500 range, and nearly half are above $1,000.

    Typical Transaction Size Generated by Websites

                  Total Sample     B-to-C   B-to-B
$1-50                      20%      22%      5%
$51-100                    13%      15%      5%
$101-500                   27%      26%     36%
$501-1000                   9%      10%      5%
$1000-10,000               23%      20%     41%
+$10,000                    8%       8%      8%
Average                    $4622   $4450   $5580
Median                     $300    $244    $800

While one in seven Websites garner more than 100 transactions monthly from their Web presence, at three in four sites there are fewer than 50 per month, and for two in five, there are fewer than 10 transactions per month.

According to ActivMedia's VP of Market Research Harry Wolhander, "The long-awaited era of pure online transaction processing has arrived, both technically and practically. For businesses that offer products that can be sold and paid for directly online, the Web is rapidly expanding from a marketing vehicle to transaction engine. Backstage transaction processing has always been the weak link in fully automated online transaction processing. Most online businesses handle incoming forms and card payments manually. Finally this year we're witnessing dramatic movement toward real-time online order and card processing. In 2000, one in three Websites that accept card payments (36%) will have fully automated online card processing, up from just 7% in 1998 and 21% in 1999."

Links
ActivMedia Research		http://www.ActivMediaResearch.com