PriceGrabber customers started earlier and ended later this year

Consumers started their online shopping earlier this year and completed it later than in the past, shopping comparison site PriceGrabber.com reports. Consumers started shopping online on Nov. 11 with a 30% increase in click-throughs compared to that date a year earlier. Click-throughs were up 62% on Black Friday compared to last year; 66% on the following Monday compared to last year.

The biggest online shopping date at PriceGrabber.com this year was Dec. 13 compared to Dec. 8 in 2003. It also reports that traffic began to level off two to three days later this year than last.

At $400, the average order that PriceGrabber referred to a retailer was up 12% over last year.

December click-throughs at PriceGrabber were more than double—up 109%—from the year before. Growth in December last year was 54% over December 2002.

PriceGrabber reported the following growth of searches in categories this December over last:
Flowers: 313%
Apparel: 239%
Office: 171%
Home & Garden: 153%
Jewelry: 149%
Babies: 147%
Electronics: 121%
Toys: 77%
Books: 60%
Photo: 42%
Computers: 35%
Video Games: 16%
Software: 10%