Virtual gifts may be a big hit this season

The global ecommerce industry may see a huge rise in activity within the virtual goods market this holiday season. One big reason for the growth of virtual goods include the explosive growth of smartphones and tablet devices, which compel users to participate in the virtual goods market, whether simply downloading a free application or buying an iTunes gift card.

In a US-focused statistics report last month by  from Elastic Path it showed that  27% of holiday shoppers are planning to buy digital wares with 36% of those intending to spend more on virtual items than they did in 2010.

What are the most popular digital gifts?

• Game downloads
• Rentals
• Subscriptions

About 21% of consumers are considering giving game downloads, rentals and subscriptions as gifts to others this season. Music downloads/subscriptions and ebooks are the runners up with 16%-20% of consumers seeking to populate their devices with media.  And, of course, we should not forgot redeemable gift cards which are extremely popular with digital buyers.