US Online Shopping Looks Healthy For Christmas Period
Online shoppers will spend a record $9.9 billion in the US during the upcoming holiday season – a rise of 43% on the $6.9 billion spend of the previous year, according to forecasts from Nielsen//NetRatings.
“This [growth] signals a solid outlook for e-tailers who will benefit from an even larger group of shoppers during the upcoming holiday season,” said Sean Kaldor, vice president of analytical services, NetRatings.
The optimistic forecast comes despite the broader economic and ‘psychological’ downturn that hit the US following the attacks of 11 September. Most analysts expected consumers’ minds to be off matters of ‘luxury’ consumption. “With more people shopping and buying online compared to last year, ecommerce activity is set to post respectable year-over-year growth, despite the effects of the economic slowdown and recent national events,” said Kaldor.
The estimates, which are based on historical online spending trends from the Nielsen//NetRatings and Harris Interactive eCommercePulse surveys, show that clothing and books, music and video are to be the most popular products bought via the Net this Christmas. However, it is the toys and games category which is showing driving growth this holiday season, up by 250% between August and December.
| Top five categories ranked by estimated online spend, November/December 2001 | |
| Estimated online spend ($million) | |
| Apparel | 2,445 |
| Books/music/video | 1,696 |
| Auctions | 1,364 |
| Toys | 1,053 |
| Computer hardware | 973 |
| Source: Nielsen//NetRatings / Harris Interactive, 22/10/01 | |
| Top five categories ranked by estimated traffic growth for 2001 holiday season | |
| Estimated % growth (Aug-Dec 2001) | |
| Toys and games | 250 |
| Consumer electronics | 113 |
| Value-oriented sites | 73 |
| Virtual department stores | 57 |
| Apparel | 46 |
| Source: Nielsen//NetRatings, 22/10/01 | |
