Online sales in Florida set records during the 2013 holiday shopping season. Many firms saw their Internet business increase by 15% to 20% over 2012, compared to around 4% growth in traditional stores.
The trend is expected to continue toward e-commerce going forward, as consumers prefer to shop in their pajamas, at any time of day, for a wider range of products. Even small, locally-owned businesses are concentrating efforts online.Florida Retail Federation president Rick McAllister says his members are pleased with how Christmas sales went. But he adds that out-of-state, Internet-only companies still have a six-percent competitive advantage that must be addressed as consumers shift their buying habits.
“It’s critical that as consumption shifts from brick and mortar to online, that we pick up that growth in consumption", McAllister said. "Or else we won’t be able to pay for the growth in population.”
Florida law has a loophole allowing internet retailers like Amazon and Overstock.com to avoid collecting owed sales tax, estimated at half a billion dollars annually.
Floridians are supposed to fill out a form and pay the taxes they owe on their own, but very few do. Online purchases made up 10% of all shopping over the holiday season.