LOUISVILLE, Ky. — If you haven’t finished your holiday shopping yet - you’re almost out of time, especially if you want to shop online.
Brick and mortar stores aren’t the go-to anymore for holiday shopping. This year more people are turning to e-commerce sites to get presents under the tree.
The National Retail Federation found that 60% of shoppers planned to make their purchases online this year, compared to 56% last year.
Just 45% plan to buy in person at department stores, compared to 53% in 2019.
But the same percentage of shoppers plan to shop at small or locally-owned businesses this year as last.
The Louisville Independent Business Alliance started an online store for small businesses called ShopLocalLou.com.
It opened for business on December 11.
Executive Director Jennifer Rubenstein said the pandemic really increased the need for a site like this.
The site offers everything from furniture to jewelry and clothes to gift cards to local stores.
“We wanted to give people a great way to see what all of our members have to offer, and then be able to purchase from them in one transaction,” Rubenstein said.
Right now there is an in store pickup options, but the site will have a shipping option in the future.
Overall, e-Commerce year-over-year grew 48.2% in 2020 according to a report by Rakuten Intelligence.