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E-commerce lays off
workers but multi-channel retailers fare better
Web traders continue to face problems. Even the better than expected Christmas sales for e-commerce companies such as Amazon have failed to turn the downward trend. In the United States, over 10,000 jobs in dot-com companies were lost in December. According to the recruitment company Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., more than 40,000 jobs were lost this year, in almost 500 companies. The "bricks-and-clicks" retailers are by and large faring better. Although Amazon.com could benefit from its co-operation with Toys"R"Us to retain the number one place in U.S. Christmas sales, eleven of the fifteen top spots were taken by the e-commerce sites of traditional retailers. Among them were Walmart.com and Kmart's Bluelight.com. The traditional retailers benefit from their e-commerce operations also in other ways. Browsing their sites is said to promote purchasing decisions. Customers will then go to a real store to buy the product.
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