Online retail spending in the United States increased by 47% between 2000 and 2001, according to a report from Abacus, a division of DoubleClick.
Abacus based its research on a database of the transactions made by 90 million US households. It found that the percentage of catalogue consumers buying online increased by 2% to reach 9% in 2001.
This complements data issued by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) which showed that US consumer catalogue sales in 2001 totalled $73.3 billion, a rise of almost $6 billion on the previous year.
Figures for 2002 are expected to reflect consumer attitudes in the aftermath of September 11. Online and catalogue sales could rise as Americans have been reluctant to fly and are less likely to carry goods through tightened airport security.
