Online Shoppers Spent $13 Billion Spent This Holiday Season.

The eSpending report from Goldman, Sachs & Co., Harris Interactive, and Nielsen//NetRatings revealed that online shoppers spent $2.95 billion during the second week in December, an increase of 48 percent from 2002. The latest weekly report brings the total spent online excluding travel to $13 billion this holiday season, an increase of 46 percent over last year.

The eSpending report found that the product categories for apparel, video/DVD, consumer electronics, toys/video games (hardware and software) and books continue to be popular so far this season, measuring the time period from November 1 to December 12.

Online shoppers spent $2.5 billion online buying apparel this holiday, an increase of 35 percent over last year (see Table 1). The category took in $900 million in revenue during the last two weeks. Toys and video games (hardware and software) rose to $1.6 billion in online spending during the same six-week period, a rise of 27 percent from a year ago. The consumer electronics category found success this season, with Internet shoppers spending $1.4 billion, showing an increase of 12 percent. The books category attracted significant attention from online consumers, garnering $1 billion, an increase of 33 percent.

More Online Shoppers Buy via Web versus Brick and Mortar and Catalogs

Online shoppers report spending more of their holiday budget with retailers’ online channels, choosing this option instead of their brick and mortar stores. The eSpending Report found that through the week of December 12, shoppers spent 21 percent of their 2003 holiday budget online, up from 16 percent in 2002. Brick and mortar storefronts have experienced a decrease in spending. Shoppers said they had expected to spend 72.9 percent of their budget at brick and mortars in 2003, down from 76.8 percent last year.

“This season we are seeing a continuing trend of consumers deciding that shopping online is the way to go,” said Lori Iventosch-James, director of ecommerce research, Harris Interactive. “The increased reliance on Internet retailers is having a noticeable impact on traditional retail outlets. With extended shipping deadlines from online retailers, we expect this trend to continue as people want to avoid the late shopping crowds.”

Online Shopping Satisfaction Rises

During the 2003 shopping season through December 12, sixty-two percent of online shoppers were satisfied with their overall shopping experience, a four-point increase from 2002 (see Table 2). Less than seven percent were dissatisfied, a one point decrease from 2002.

“Online retailers have seen a strong season so far,” said Abha Bhagat, senior analyst, Nielsen//NetRatings. “The higher levels of customer satisfaction and increased consumer spending online point to the fact that the online channel is no longer a disruptive technology medium but another mainstream channel through which retailers reach out to customers.”

To view tables CLICK above on ‘More Images’.

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