Dollars spent online in 2009 sank 2 percent
According to comScore, dollars spent online in 2009 sank 2 percent, after growing 7 percent in 2008 and around 20 percent in the several years prior.
Online shopping still accounts for only 8 percent of retail sales.
According to comScore, online shopping still accounts for only 8 percent of retail sales.
Asked to name their single top use for the Internet outside of work, 13% of Western European respondents to a GFK poll cited e-commerce, such as shopping on Amazon.com or eBay, compared with 12% of Americans. In the U.K., 26% of respondents named this as their top use for the Web.
Experian PLC’s Hitwise says that traffic to the top 500 retail Web sites was down 9% Nov. 30 compared with last year’s Cyber Monday, as shoppers shifted their browsing to larger retailers. Traffic at the most visited site, Amazon.com Inc., increased 44%, and visits to Staples.com increased 61%.
The total number of online shoppers increased 6% on Nov. 30 from a year earlier, even as the amount that each shopper spent declined 2% to $102.19.
E-commerce sales grew 5% on Cyber Monday—the first Monday after Thanksgiving—compared with sales on Cyber Monday last year, and the day’s sales matched the single-day record for online shopping.
About 5% to 7% of U.S. shopping typically happens online, but this holiday season online may account for 10% of all holiday shopping, or about $44 billion, according to Forrester Research.
Overstock.com Inc. said that [Cyber] Monday sales were about 10% above their record-breaking Friday levels, as it offered free shipping on all purchases and a free car giveaway promotion.
ComScore reported that U.S. online shoppers spent $595 million on Black Friday, up 11% from last year.
According to a survey conducted by the National Retail Federation’s Shop.org division, 96.5 million Americans planned to shop online on Cyber Monday, mostly from home, up from 85 million last year.