Analyst Corner 13 minutesRegister for Free AccessWeekly Insights Feb 3, 2017 Coresight Research February 3, 2017 Executive Summary This week’s note “From the Desk of Deborah Weinswig” discusses social commerce and its value to consumers, as well as the value of social media to both retailers and consumers. In 2016, direct online sales accounted for 11.6% of total US retail sales ($394 billion), but digital touchpoints actually impacted an estimated 49% of total US retail sales, according to a recent report from the National Retail Federation and Forrester. The Confederation of British Industry announced that growth in both private sector and consumer confidence was 10% in the three months ended January 2017. Retailers reported “decent growth” and output growth among manufacturers was strong, while growth was flat in the service sector. Ant Financial, the digital payments arm of Chinese e-commerce group Alibaba, announced an agreement to acquire US-listed money transfer service MoneyGram for about $880 million in cash. The purchase of MoneyGram, which competes with Western Union, would give Ant Financial a platform for expanding its services to many other parts of the world. Please Login to read the full report. Not a member? Register for a free user account. This document was generated for Other research you may be interested in: Generative AI Latest: The Rise of RAG, Updates from Amazon, Meta and OracleInnovator Profile: Hark Transforms Customer Service with an AI-Powered SolutionWeekly US and UK Store Openings and Closures Tracker 2023, Week 22: B&M Drives UK OpeningsResearch Preview: Market Navigator—UK Retail and E-Commerce