Online sales drop in 4Q but up 6 percent in '08

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Online sales drop in 4Q but up 6 percent in '08

Jewelry and watches down 12 percent

February 13, 2009

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Reston, Va.--Online retail spending decreased 3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 compared with the same period in 2007, according to ComScore, the first recorded quarter of negative growth since the organization began tracking e-commerce spending in 2001.

For the full year, however, retail e-commerce increased 6 percent to $130.1 billion in 2008, but represents a substantially lower growth rate than in previous years.

"The fourth quarter rounded out what was a particularly challenging year for online retailers," ComScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni said in a media release. "The financial market meltdown that began in the fall dramatically reduced consumers' discretionary spending power, resulting in the first quarter of negative growth that we've observed."

Fulgoni added that rising unemployment and continued economic uncertainty in the first few months of this year will be especially critical in foretelling what 2009 has in store for the online retail sector.

As for growth in specific online retail categories, video games, consoles and accessories ranks as the top-growing online retail category in 2008 (up 29 percent vs. 2007). Other fast-growing categories included home, garden and furniture (up 25 percent) and sport and fitness (up 25 percent), both of which benefited from an increasing consumer willingness to complete major consumer purchases, such as furniture and home exercise equipment, online.

Two of the largest online retail categories, consumer electronics (up 9 percent) and apparel and accessories (up 4 percent) both managed to grow positively in 2008, while several other categories were not as fortunate. Among them were music, movies and video (down 23 percent), computer software (down 18 percent), jewelry and watches (down 12 percent), office supplies (down 10 percent), flowers, greetings and gifts (down 10 percent), books and magazines (down 8 percent), toys and hobbies (down 7 percent) and computer hardware (down 5 percent).

ComScore measures the digital world and is a preferred source of digital marketing intelligence. For more information, visit the company's Web site, Comscore.com/CompanyInfo.

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