Online spending up 19.6%, comScore reports

A report by comScore Inc., a web measurement firm proves that the holiday season remained strong for Internet retailers last week. This report reveals that the online sales reached $4.58 billion for the week ended Dec. 7. This is 19.6% increase against the $3.83 billion during the same week in 2006. For the holiday season overall, in the month of November, sales has increased to $18.01 from $15.24 billion during the same period last year.

The comScore has found that Thursday, Dec. 7, was the heaviest online shopping day ever, with $803 million sales, which is 28% more than the same Thursday a year ago. In addition, the 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 Mr. 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 PlayStation 2 search was more often than the newer PlayStation 3 suggesting 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 up 20%, from $24.6 billion to $29.5 billion. It claims that total online spending in the year 2007 will be $123.1 billion, which would be a 20.6% increase from 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 increased 60% in November when compared with same month last year, and when compared with 2006 it has increased 34% to date in 2007. Page views per visit in November reached a record of 13.8 from 12.8 pages last November, which is up 7.6%.

Web-only retailer Luggage Online says traffic to its site has 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, ranks No. 354 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, has been in business since 1998.