59 percent of e-commerce companies expect greater holiday season sales in 2012

According to “eHoliday Shopping Monitor” survey released by US merchant acquirer and payment processor Chase Paymentech, on average, these companies expect more than half (51 percent) of their holiday sales to come from e-commerce. The same source shows that mobile commerce is expected to account for 6 six percent of holiday sales.

Research also points out that despite the expectations for a strong shopping season, the respondents believe they will face some marketing challenges over the coming months. 52 percent of e-commerce companies have mentioned that “reaching new customers” would be “significantly challenging,” followed by “offering competitive pricing” (25 percent) and “reaching return customers” (23 percent).

Of those who plan to use digital promotions, companies have stated that Facebook (86 percent) and Twitter (70 percent) are the social media websites they are set to use most to reach customers.

Chase’s study reveals that 65 percent of companies surveyed believe the 2012 shopping season will have a positive impact on the US economy. Overall, 80 percent declare the US economy will either remain the same or improve over the next 12 months, compared to only two in ten (20 percent) expecting conditions to get worse.