US Online Holiday Spending Picks Up Pace
US online spending picked up late in the Holiday Season, bringing the year-on-year growth rate close to the pace for the rest of the year, according to the latest figures from comScore.
Nearly $28 billion was spent online from Nov 1 to Dec 27, marking a 19% gain versus the corresponding days last year. This compares with a 20% growth rate during January-October. ComScore had forecast spending for the full Holiday Season (Nov 1-Dec 31) to reach $29.5 billion, a 20% increase from last year.
During the core holiday shopping period between Thanksgiving and Christmas, online sales grew by 21% versus year ago, a full 2% percentage points higher than the overall holiday season-to-date growth rate. However, there was one more shopping day during the period this year.
Warm weather during the early part of November took its toll on online retail sales, and played a role in holding down the growth in spending over the entire holiday season to a 19%, which is below last year’s level of 26%.
Looking at the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas, comScore notes online spending grew at a healthier 21% rate, which it sees as encouraging given the economic challenges facing consumers this year as a result of higher gas prices, lower home values and a jittery stock market.
Meanhile the Washington Post reports that sales of electronic gadgets seems to have reached a plateau. US spending on electronic gadgets was $4.5 billion from Nov 18 to Dec 9, according to research firm NPD, half a percent less than in the comparable period last year.
Digital cameras topped the list of popular consumer electronics products, but sales did not grow over last year. According to NPD, camera unit sales were up less than 1%, while in dollar terms sales were down 13% because the cameras were less expensive. MP3 player sales were flat.
The sales plateau hit by both gadgets is the result of a saturated market, according to Stephen Baker, an NPD analyst.
The typical consumer is already on his or her third digital camera and probably owns a digital music player too.
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