Online retail sales go flat for week ending Aug. 1, comScore reports

Online retail sales for the week ending Aug. 1 showed no growth over the corresponding week a year earlier, reports comScore Networks Inc. It was the third week this year in which online retail sales showed no or virtually no growth over a year earlier. Online sales amounted to $1.044 billion vs. $1.047 billion a year earlier. Online sales so far this year are up 22% over last year. The weeks ending May 30 and July 11 also showed no growth.

ComScore says the flatness was due to softness in the market for computers/peripherals/PDAs, which had grown strongly in the second quarter. “Since the category accounts for a large percentage of non-travel dollar sales, it has a substantial impact on the growth rates,” comScore says.

In addition, comScore says it is possible that the above average travel spending for the week ending Aug. 1—up 40% online to $1.12 billion from $802 million a year earlier—contributed to the softness in retail spending.

Total retail sales for the week ending July 31 were up 5% from the corresponding week a year ago, according to ShopperTrak’s National Retail Sales Estimate.