US E-Commerce Passes $30 Million For 2005 Holiday Season

The report found that online shoppers spent the most money on apparel/clothing, totalling $5.3 billion, a rise of 42% compared to the same time last year.

Commenting on the findings, Heather Dougherty, senior retail analyst at Nielsen//NetRatings, said: “Apparel remains one of the more dominant product categories during the holiday season, mirroring offline holiday retail behaviour.”

She continued: “Computer hardware and consumer electronics had a stellar season with the price reductions for laptops, plasma TV’s, colour printers as well as a high demand for iPods, digital cameras, and media accessories. The 2005 holiday season was a gadget year for consumers of all ages, and consumers continued to show their love for free shipping.”

Toys and video games did not enjoy such strong growth in 2005, with spend dropping by 9%. The report attributed the poor performance to a lack of “must-have” toys to boost the growth.

Looking at the shift in consumer shopping patterns, online sales were found to claim 27% of shoppers’ budgets, an increase of 11 percentage points from 16% four years ago, whereas traditional stores suffered a drop of 10 percentage points from the 2002 holiday season.

Explaining the change in consumer habits, Dougherty said: “E-commerce is gaining ground amongst consumers during the holiday season due to its convenience, product selection and lower prices. Most importantly, holiday shoppers are diligent about finding the best price.”

She added: “The continued popularity of search engines, such as Google and Yahoo!, highlights the ease of researching product selection and availability, and with a longer shopping season, it was much easier to wait for additional price reductions.”

These figures confirm predictions made earlier this year from online intelligence service Hitwise, claiming that e-commerce would enjoy a bumper Christmas season, forecasting a rise of 25% in visits to site for the online retail sector (see Retailers Set For Online Christmas Boom).

Earlier this year online analyst eMarketer predict a rise in popularity for e-commerce across Europe, with increases of 40% expected for 2005. The rise, it is claimed, has been spurred on by the adoption of broadband across the continent, with online shopping and purchasing on the rise even in countries with deteriorating offline retail markets (see European E-Commerce Forecast To Rise By 40% In 2005).