How A New Wave Of Mobile-Social Commerce Has Powered Online Retail

For all the talk of the "death of traditional retail," due to online shopping, e-commerce is still a relatively small part of the American retail scene.

In 2011, e-commerce accounted for a scant 4 percent of American retail sales.

It is, however, growing faster than its offline counterparts, and it is being fueled further by two new dynamics: mobile commerce and social media.

According to comScore, mobile now accounts for 10 percent of e-commerce purchases. It will only grow further as sales of mobile devices continue to skyrocket.

Meanwhile, Americans spend an enormous amount of time on social networks, especially on mobile devices.

New "social commerce" sites like ShoeDazzle and Fab are emerging, hoping to harness consumers' trust in the recommendations of family and friends. They're growing fast.

We’re hosting our annual Social Commerce Summit this Wednesday in New York City. We invited leaders in the social commerce space— from disruptive startups to the Fortune 500— along with investors and analysts, to explore customer acquisition, retention, engagement, loyalty and much more. Join representatives from Facebook, Foursquare, One Kings Lane, Rue La La, Group Commerce, HSN, Sears, Walgreens and many more.

The slideshow below is a preview of Henry Blodget’s opening keynote. Join us on Wednesday or find extended coverage here on Business Insider after the conference.