Bob Smethers of Comic City in Detroit, Michigan writes in and shares his thoughts on the recent article regarding online retailer sales (see "Online Sales Up 16.2% in Q3").

So we hear from ICV2 that "Brick-and-mortar retailers who have to compete with online giant Amazon can take no solace from the figures released by the Commerce Department." 

Really?  Here's me taking solace.

E-commerce sales are 10% of retail sales.  After years of "straight line upward growth" the vast, overwhelming majority of sales are still made by and through real people who are in stores on one side or the other of a checkout counter.

E-commerce sales have tripled in the last 10 years.  Will they triple again in 10 years?  That would be 18%.  Let's change the headline to "After 20 years of explosive growth, the vast majority of people STILL prefer shopping in person rather than online."

Amazon continues their domination in the online arena, and experts expect that to continue.  But ask those same experts when they expect Amazon to turn a profit.  Meanwhile, every day smaller retailers use the very platform Amazon has built to run profitable businesses.  At some point, someone has to demand profits from Amazon.  Or do those experts think an unprofitable Amazon will be able to compete with Alibaba as they launch in the US?

I'm not one to deny the future, and how e-commerce has and will continue to change retailing.  But the realities of today, and even the foreseeable future are not reflected in this article.

I also believe a disclosure of ICv2's relationship with comiXology which is owned by Amazon should be included in any article on either of these companies.  I've seen it before, why did it stop?

NOTE:  ICv2’s relationships with comiXology ended last spring, around the time when Amazon acquired comiXology.  It was noted here in case you missed it.

The opinions expressed in this Talk Back are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.