Friday, December 27, 2002
Shoppers flocked to the Web this holiday season, boosting online sales from 20 percent to as much as 41 percent, even as traditional retailers showed what is likely to be the smallest gain in more than 30 years.
"No matter how badly offline sales fared, online sales continue to shine -- mostly the (Web) businesses of bricks and mortar retailers," Forrester analyst Carrie Johnson said.
Final tallies are still pending, but initial data from sales made between November 1 and December 20 suggest online retailers showed strong growth without hitting their profit margins by giving away the store, as some had in the past.
"A couple years ago, there were freebies and huge discounts. This year the value was free shipping; you didn't see as many free giveaways," said NetRatings' chief e-commerce analyst Lisa Strand. "Toward the end of the season, you saw a huge shift toward shoppers coming online because of convenience rather than price and to avoid the crowds."
The exact amount of online sales growth differs among research and tracking firms because of varied methodologies.
For example, ComScore Networks, which uses technology to track transactions made by about 1.5 million of its panel members, said online sales excluding travel between November 1 and December 20 were up 23 percent from a year ago to $8.5 billion.
Meanwhile, Nielsen/NetRatings and Harris Interactive said sales excluding travel for the same period rose 20 percent to $11.6 billion. NetRatings surveys shoppers for its data.
Online comparison shopping service BizRate.com, which surveys consumers after they have bought something, said online sales totalled $11.53 billion -- up 41 percent from a year-earlier. BizRate.com lets consumers compare price, selection and service at more than 2,000 e-commerce sites.
Some adjustments are expected to all the numbers as the money spent in the week after Christmas is included.
By: DocMemory
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