Online spending up 19.6% last week, comScore reports
The holiday season remained strong for Internet retailers last week, as online sales totaled $4.58 billion for the week ended Dec. 7, up 19.6% from $3.83 billion during the same week in 2006, reports web measurement firm comScore Inc. For the holiday season overall, going back to Nov. 1, sales are up 18.2% to $18.01 from $15.24 billion during the same period last year.
Thursday, Dec. 7, was the heaviest online shopping day ever, comScore says, with sales of $803 million, 28% more than the same Thursday a year ago. And comScore predicts heavier online spending lies ahead.
“December got off to a strong start, as we saw spending growth accelerate to 20 percent for the week and the first ever $800 million online spending day on record,” says comScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni. “It was a terrific kick-start to December, but we expect the upcoming week to be the heaviest online spending week of the holiday season as the procrastinators and late-season deal-seekers come out in earnest.”
The most popular search term in November was the video game console Nintendo Wii that prompted nearly 30.5 million searches, comScore says. That was followed by the Apple iPod, 24.8 million searches; Xbox 360, 11.0 million; Playstation 2, 9.7 million; and Playstation 3, 7.6 million. The fact that the older Sony video game console, Playstation 2, was searched for more often than the newer Playstation 3 suggests that consumers are seeking bargains this holiday season, comScore says.
“Gaming consoles and accessories represent the strongest growing product category this holiday season, with sales up more than 130 percent versus year ago. The Nintendo Wii is attracting particularly strong interest, as evidenced by the intense search activity occurring around the product,” Fulgoni says. “While iPods and iPhones are predictably popular, we’re also seeing that consumers are actively searching for information on GPS products. This is a category that can be expected to grow strongly during the next few years.”
ComScore, which measures web activity, projects holiday spending will grow 20% from $24.6 billion to $29.5 billion and that 2007 online spending will total $123.1 billion, which would be a 20.6% increase from $102.1 billion last year. The totals exclude travel, larger corporate purchases and auction sites.
In other news related to holiday sales:
- ShopLocal, which hosts online store circulars of major retail chains, says its index of site activity was up 60% in November, compared with the same month last year, and is up 34% to date in 2007 compared with 2006. Page views per visit in November reached a record high of 13.8, up 7.6% from 12.8 pages last November.
- Web-only retailer Luggage Online says traffic to its site increased 66% over last year in the week following Thanksgiving and sales reached about $1 million, making it the most profitable week ever for the company. Luggage Online, No. 354 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, has been in business since 1998.
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