Online shopping grows 36% going into holiday shopping season
Online retail spending grew 36% last week vs. the same week a year ago, reaching $988 million, ComScore Networks Inc. reported today. The categories with the biggest gains from a year ago were home and garden, where spending is up 146% vs. the same week a year ago and total spending for the past four weeks is up 110%; apparel and accessories, which gained 66% vs. a year ago and 49% for the last four weeks vs. a year ago; books, up 31% for the week but still down 3% for the four weeks vs. a year ago; consumer electronics, up 25% and 15%. Interestingly, computer hardware sales are down 1% for the week and 3% for the four weeks. ComScore’s numbers exclude auctions and large corporate purchases.
"Overall, online sales continue to be strong, but the softness we`re
reporting in sales of computer hardware is consistent with overall
expectations of the tech sector," said Michelle David Adams, comScore
Networks vice president. "Last week`s online sales growth was influenced by the timing of Thanksgiving 2001 and other events which softened the year-ago period. But even with this effect, comScore data are reporting solid gains as the holiday season progresses."
Total retail sales for the week dropped 5.3% over the same week a year ago, the largest year-to-year decline this year, reports ShopperTrak RCT’s National Retail Sales Estimate. The big decline was a timing issue, however, because of the lateness of Thanksgiving this year. Sales rose 1.9% from the prior week.
Online sales of travel services totaled $626 million, 92% greater than the same week last year.
ComScore bases its sales figures on buying activity of a
representative cross-section of more than 1.5 million Internet
users who have given permission to monitor their browsing and buying behavior.
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