The final year-end sales number for 2005: $81.6 billion, comScore reports
Consumers’ online retail spending ended 2005 at $81.6 billion, up 24% from $65.8 billion in 2004, comScore Networks Inc. reports. Sales in the last week of the year, which comScore reported today, reached $1.54 billion, up 21% from $1.28 billion a year earlier.
By comparison, ShopperTrak’s National Retail Sales Estimate reports that total retail sales fell 2% for the week ending Dec. 31 compared to the comparable week a year ago.
Weekly sales exceeded $3 billion for the first time in 2005, occurring twice—the week ending Dec. 11, when they reached $3.06 billion and one week later when they reached $3.03 billion. Those two weeks were the year’s peak weeks, which were the same as in 2004.
Also for the first time in 2005, there were no weeks with online sales under $1 billion. The weeks with the lowest sales were the weeks ending July 10 ($1 billion); July 3 ($1.17 billion) and May 29 ($1.21 billion). Interestingly, they were the same weeks that the yearly lows occurred in 2004.
In 2005, only five weeks experienced single-digit growth and 10 weeks experienced growth of 30% or more.
Online travel sales for the week ending Jan. 1 reached $820 million, up 22% from $672 million in the corresponding week a year ago, comScore reports.
ComScore also reports that 2006 is off to a strong start. From Jan. 1-20, online sales were up 33% to $5.5 billion from $4.1 billion a year ago. Online travel spending was up 8% to $3.4 billion from $3.2 billion a year ago, comScore reports.
"It`s clear based on what we`re seeing so far in 2006 that the strength in online sales will not wane anytime soon," says Gian Fulgoni, chairman of comScore Networks.
ComScore executive John Miniati is speaking at the Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition June 5-7 in Chicago on Who`s Online and How Do You Reach Them?
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