Dydacomp and Internet Retailer Launch SMB Index for Retailers

April 26, 2012 (Parsippany, NJ) – Dydacomp, a leading provider of business technology platforms for small and mid-sized eCommerce and multichannel merchants, today announced that it has partnered with Internet Retailer Magazine to issue a monthly index of industry trends for small to mid-sized retailers called the “Dydacomp SMB Index.” The Dydacomp SMB Index is based on Dydacomp data compiled from more than 1.7 million orders per month at more than 1,500 e-commerce operators—accounting for more than $200 million in combined monthly retail sales.

Ecommerce continues to take an important role in the retail space and is expected to grow over 15 percent in 2012 according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. With more and more small to mid-sized businesses looking to expand online to attract new buyers, trends have emerged that provide insight into consumer spending and confidence. The Dydacomp SMB Index tracks this across more than 15 product categories, including Consumer Electronics, Clothing and Sporting Goods.

The inaugural index, available online and in the print issue of Internet Retailer, uncovered interesting findings, including:

• Consumers who shop online are placing fewer orders, but they are larger in size.
• A slight decline in sales last month compared with March 2011 was identified, while year-to-date sales through March increased nearly four percent year over year.
• Average order size grew in every category included in the Index except for one, Tobacco Products/Alcohol.
• Books (which includes publications from religious organizations), Sporting Goods and Auto Parts showed strong gains, while Jewelry and Tools were weakest.

“Helping online retailers manage almost two-million orders each month, Dydacomp is uniquely positioned to gauge how small to mid-sized retailers are faring across a variety of industries and serve as an indicator of economic conditions in this market,” said Fred Lizza, CEO of Dydacomp. “By partnering with Internet Retailer, we are sharing this data on an industry-wide scale and providing insight into the growth and success of the burgeoning online small business eCommerce community so retailers and marketers alike can make better and more-informed decisions.”

The Dydacomp SMB Index will be available in Internet Retailer’s print and online editions on a monthly basis. The first Index appeared on April 11th and can be viewed in its entirety by clicking here. Retailers looking for more information on how to turn online browsing into online purchases – in any shopping category – can click here for best practices from Dydacomp.