Online holiday shopping gets off to an early start, NetRatings reports
Retailers have been concerned about the compressed holiday shopping season this year, since Thanksgiving falls so late. But consumers may be taking that into account as they plan their shopping. Nielsen/NetRatings today reported that online shopping trips for the end of October and beginning of November increased 12% from the week before. Nielsen/NetRatings says consumers logged on to e-retailing sites 109.7 million times for the week vs. 97.7 million for the week before.
"In the past, online holiday shopping kicked off much later, but we`re seeing indications that seasonal sales and fall clearance promotions are helping boost an early start," said Lisa Strand, director and chief analyst, Nielsen/NetRatings. "We expect the next couple of weeks to be critical, as the holiday advertising push from online stores heats up."
Toys and games led all categories, posting a 34% growth during the week ending Nov. 3. Consumer electronics followed, rising 26%, while shopping visits to retailers in the books, music and video category jumped 25%.
Nielsen/NetRatings AdRelevance data shows that holiday-specific advertising surged during the end of October, with the number of unique holiday ads soaring 53%, while overall advertising only grew 13%.
The weekly Nielsen/NetRatings Holiday eCommerce Index is based on total shopping trips at work and at home, measuring the amount of activity at e-commerce sites. The index is comprised of five representative sites in each category.
In addition to reporting the start of the holiday shopping season, Nielsen/NetRatings reported that nearly 87%, or 117.3 million, web users age 18 and older shopped online during the last six months, with 96 million of the total active population making a purchase during that time.
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