Online Xmas Shopping Heats Up

US online spending is 23% higher this holiday season than in 2004, according to comScore Networks' latest figures, which closely match its predictions made in mid-November. Meanwhile, Nielsen//NetRatings reports a 33% rise in online shopping compared with last year - with a staggering 238% growth in books, music and video.

According to comScore Networks, spend on non-travel items during the first 39 days of the holiday season (ending last Friday) totalled $12.75 billion. The company continues to predict a $19.6bn online spend for the entire holiday season (November and December) - representing a 24% growth from last year.

Consumers are not just shopping online, but are increasingly researching gifts and prices via the web. Based on the Internet use of more than 2m US consumers at home, work and university, comScore calculated that were 6.6m searches for iPods and 5m searches for Xbox in November. Harry Potter achieved 4.8m searches. Star Wars and Barbie managed 2.5m and 2.1m respectively.

'It's clear that search has become a mainstream way for consumers to research products, irrespective of whether their ultimate purchase will occur online or at a retail store,' says Gian Fulgoni, comScore Chairman.

The company is online at www.comscore.com

The Nielsen//NetRatings Holiday eShopping Index, comprised of over 100 representative online retailers across ten categories, shows a 33% year-on-year increase in the number of online shopping 'trips' during the week ending December 4th.

Last year at this time, the Holiday eShopping Index showed shoppers visiting retail sites 348.3m times during the week. This year, the number of shopping sessions rose to 462.5m.

The fastest growing category was Books/Music/Video, which increased by 238%. Apparel was the second highest grower (38%), while Toys/Video Games, Retail and Consumer Electronics each saw 28% growth in the number of shopping visits.

During the first six weeks of the 2005 holiday season, the Index rose 39% compared with the week ending October 30th. The Toys/Video Games category rose 149% in this time, and Flowers and Gifts saw a 117% rise. Consumer electronics, jewellery and shopping comparison/portals increased by 90%, 81% and 64% respectively.

Heather Dougherty, Senior Retail Analyst at Nielsen//NetRatings, explains the figures: 'Online shopping has increased because both new and experienced Internet buyers are not only researching products and comparing prices online before making a purchase, but they are also finding good holiday discounts online. The significant increase in visits to the Books/Music/Video category is being driven by the vast selection of titles released during the holidays.'

The company is online at www.nielsen-netratings.com.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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