If you're new to Cheap Hosting Directory, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Weekly Online Retail Sales Break Through $2 Billion Mark, comScore Reports

Online Holiday Spending on Target to Grow 25 to 30 Percent Versus 2002

RESTON, Va., Dec. 18 /PRNewswire/ — comScore Networks today released
late-breaking online retail spending data for the week ending Sunday,
December 14, 2003. Online retail sales to consumers, excluding travel and
auction purchases, closed at $2.11 billion last week. This represents growth
of 28 percent versus the same week last year and reflects the highest level of
weekly non-travel spending recorded to date. In fact, the weeks ending
Sunday, December 7 and December 14 are the first weeks on record to top
$2 billion in online retail sales.

Online retail sales in the season to date (11/1/03 through 12/14/03) are
up approximately 29 percent over last year to $9.4 billion. Sales since
Thanksgiving have totaled $4.8 billion, an increase of 26 percent versus
$3.8 billion for the same period in 2002.

Online Retail Spending
Excludes Travel and Auctions

2002 Spending - 2003 Spending (in millions) - % Change
January to October - $33,290 - $39,783 - 20%
November - $4,056 - $5,257 - 30%
Thanksgiving to Date - $3,787 - $4,773 - 26%
Season to Date - $7,266 - $9,381 - 29%
Week Ending Sun., Dec 14/15 - $1,641 - $2,107 - 28%
Full Season (2003 forecast) - $9,688 - $12,100 - 25%

The long-term growth picture is similarly impressive, as reflected in the
comScore Historical Online Buying Index (HOBI), which measures the relative
growth of online spending since 2001 (when the index was set at 100). Based
on comScore’s holiday season forecast, the comScore HOBI is on track to top
150 for this year’s holiday season.

comScore Holiday Survey

Consumers and retailers are, to some degree, engaged in a game of
"chicken" with regard to holiday shopping and pricing, according to a study
conducted by comScore Survey Solutions between December 5 and December 8. The
study yielded a number of insights into consumer perception of retailers’
pricing strategies, including:

— A majority (56 percent) of respondents believed retail prices would
continue to drop before the end of the holiday season.
— Of those expecting prices to drop, fully 64 percent thought that the
best prices would be found in the very last days leading up to
Christmas, and 44 percent stated they would be likely or very likely to
hold off a significant portion of their spending until they felt the
best prices could be found.
— Respondents most often cited retailers’ desire to avoid having unsold
inventory (59 percent) and that retailers had set a precedent by
dropping prices in past years (54 percent) as reasons to expect a drop
in retail prices this year.

"Savvy consumers are more attuned than ever to the retail world," said Dan
Hess, senior vice president of comScore Networks. "The Web has become an
instrument that enables holiday shopping with unprecedented precision, whether
as the ultimate point of purchase or a research resource to save time and
money in offline stores."

Key Drivers of E-Commerce Growth

The substantial growth of online holiday shopping this year can be
attributed to a number of factors, including:

— Broader base of buyers: While more mature every year, the Internet
population continues to grow, providing a larger base of potential
online shoppers. In November 2003, the active U.S. Internet population
exceeded 151 million users, according to comScore Media Metrix.
— Broadband penetration on the rise: The number of home broadband users
has increased by more than 30 percent in the past year, with 34 percent
of home users now using a high-speed connection. comScore research has
shown that broadband users are at least 50 percent more likely than
narrowband users to complete an online purchase in a given month.
— Purchase frequency and value increase with tenure: As consumers gain
experience shopping online they spend more often and in greater
amounts. The base of experienced shoppers grows every year, fueling a
shift in spending from offline to online channels. Specifically,
comScore found that experienced online shoppers increased their
spending by an average of 37 percent from 2001 to 2002, driven
primarily by frequency of purchase.
— The online shopping basket continues to diversify: Consumers are
increasingly willing to buy a wider array of products online. comScore
Networks sales data report above-par online sales growth in product
categories such as Home & Garden and Furniture & Appliances, which
previously were less likely to be associated with e-commerce.
— Shopping online is easier than ever: Online merchants, comparison
shopping engines and shopping portals have made great strides in
improving the shopping process. Consumers can find and compare prices
with greater ease than ever before.

"Improved retail sites, online shopping engines, targeted promotions and a
confluence of other factors have driven the achievement of the first
$2 billion weeks in online retail history," explained Mr. Hess. "The industry
appears to be solidly on track to meet our holiday forecast of 25 to 30
percent growth over last year."

About comScore Networks

comScore Networks provides unparalleled insight into consumer behavior.
This capability is based on a representative cross-section of more than
1.5 million global Internet users who have given comScore explicit permission
to confidentially capture their Web-wide browsing, buying and other
transaction behavior, including offline purchasing. Through its patent-pending
technology, comScore measures what matters across the entire spectrum of
surfing and buying behavior. This deep knowledge of customers and competitors
helps clients design more powerful marketing strategies and tactics that
deliver superior ROI. comScore services are used by global leaders such as
Microsoft, Kraft, The Newspaper Association of America, Knight Ridder Digital,
Best Buy, Verizon, Nestle, Wells Fargo & Company, GlaxoSmithKline, and Orbitz.
For more information, please visit http://www.comscore.com.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.