Study: Online holiday sales show relative strength

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Study: Online holiday sales show relative strength

December 29, 2008

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The 2008 holiday season was e-tailer Amazon.com's best ever, with more than 6.3 million items ordered worldwide on its peak day, Dec. 15, which is a record-breaking 72.9 items per second.

Reston, Va.--Online sales for the first 51 days of the 2008 November-December holiday season are down 1 percent to $24.71 billion, compared with $24.96 billion for the same period last year, according to the latest research from ComScore.

Online spending over the most recent weekend tracked (Dec. 20-21, 2008) totaled $677 million, which is down 17 percent when compared with the corresponding fourth weekend after Thanksgiving last year (Dec. 16-17, 2007). However, when a comparison is made to the weekend nearest Christmas last year (Dec. 22-23, 2007), spending this past weekend is seen to be nearly twice as high.

"Because of the way the shopping days fall this year with five fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas, there is no perfect adjusted-day comparison to make at this point in the season," ComScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni said in a media release. "However, online spending over the most recent weekend was clearly substantially heavier than the corresponding weekend nearest Christmas last year, which suggests that many consumers opted for the cozier confines of online shopping rather than having to brave the severe cold and snowstorms affecting much of the northern half of the country."

Fulgoni also noted that this year's compressed shopping season has resulted in some consumers buying online later than they did a year ago.

"A positive late-season boost for online retail perhaps, but it's ultimately not going to do much to make up for the significantly shorter shopping season this year," Fulgoni said.

The softest online retail categories this holiday season include jewelry and watches, with sales down 17 percent.

In related news, Amazon.com Inc. has announced that the 2008 holiday season was its best ever, with more than 6.3 million items ordered worldwide on its peak day, Dec. 15, which is a record-breaking 72.9 items per second.

Top-selling jewelry items included a 14-karat white gold Journey Curve pendant, platinum four-prong diamond stud earrings and an 18-inch sterling silver, marcasite and garnet glass-heart pendant.

Top-selling watches included the Invicta men's Pro Diver stainless-steel watch, Citizen's Eco-Drive men's Chronograph Canvas watch and Movado's Juro stainless-steel watch for men.

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