eBags’ holiday sales are running 84% over last year, the company reports

Holiday sales at eBags Inc.’s eBags.com for the two-week period ended Nov. 22 are running 84% higher than the year-earlier period, the e-retailer says. EBags attributes the increase to mailing its first catalog this month, strategic partnerships and web site improvements. “Customer conversions are double a year ago,” adds CEO Jon Nordmark.

Earlier this month eBags shipped 250,000 copies of its first-ever catalog, which was received by customers and prospects last week. The 40-page holiday season catalog covers eBags’ complete range of products. Among eBags’ strategic partnerships are an alliance recently formed with Amazon.com, under which eBags offers more than 6,000 products through Amazon’s apparel and accessories site.

Site improvements at eBags include a more text-oriented navigation system that allows shoppers to link more quickly to specific products, and shopping assistance tools that, for example, help customers find the right case for a particular laptop, says Peter Cobb, co-founder and vice president of marketing.