By Keith Regan E-Commerce Times
01/10/01 10:25 AM PT
During the week after Christmas, shoppers spent nearly twice as much as during the week before on computer hardware, clothing, and home and garden accessories.
Is Your Website Killing Customer Confidence? Your Website's privacy policy can be a key factor in a customer's decision to do business with you, and it is vital to ensuring you don't run afoul of your online legal and regulatory responsibilities. Need more reasons? Read on.
Shoppers spent US$878 million online in the week after Christmas, helping to push total sales during the holiday season to $10.7 billion, according to a study released Tuesday by Goldman Sachs and PC Data Online.
Sales for the last week in December increased 60 percent over the $542 million spent during the same period in 1999. The burst of spending helped the overall holiday season grow by more than 100 percent over the $5.2 billion spent in 1999.
The latest numbers back up a series of earlier reports suggesting that more than $10 billion had been spent online during the holiday buying period.
"Despite the downswing in the economy in recent weeks, online spending during
the holiday met most expectations," said Cameron Meierhoefer, Internet analyst for PC Data.
Post-Christmas Rush
The numbers suggest that buyers continued to spend money online after the holidays were over, although not in all categories. During the week after Christmas, shoppers spent nearly twice as much as during the week before on computer hardware, clothing, and home and garden accessories.
"Even though sales recovered from an earlier slowdown, the results were not evenly distributed across categories or companies," said Anthony Noto, Internet analyst for Goldman Sachs.
In fact, Noto said while consumer electronics sales more than doubled
over a year ago, the toys category, one of the biggest gainers in 1999, grew by 37 percent over last year.
Earlier this month, Goldman Sachs and PC Data released a report estimating that in the nine weeks leading up to Christmas, U.S. shoppers spent $9.8 billion online.
Satisfied Customers
The Goldman Sachs/PC Data Online study also backed up earlier reports showing that customers are largely happy with their experiences buying online.
The study said more than 80 percent of Net consumers said they were likely or extremely likely to shop again online, while 58 percent said they found a better overall shopping experience online this year compared to last year.
While Amazon.com remains the clear online leader, the Goldman Sachs/PC Data report
underscores the increasing growth of traditional retailers on the Web. A host of retailers, including
Wal-Mart, Sears, Target and J. Crew, had e-tail sites among the 20 busiest.
During last year's holiday season, just four old-world retailers were on the top 20 list, Meierhoefer said.
Are All Dot-Com Layoffs Created Equal? January 10, 2001
According to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, many companies took layoffs in the
last six months to stretch capital in the hope they could turn the corner by year end.
Related Stories
Do Luxury E-tailers Stand a Chance?
January 09, 2001
Despite a constituency that is liberal with a buck, luxury sites have not found a magic formula for survival or success.
Report: E-Holiday Revenues Up 76 Percent January 09, 2001
Among the online winners this holiday season were traditional retailers that
took it to the Net to attract both new and old customers.
Analysts Cool to Amazon Q4 Projections January 09, 2001
Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos said that more than 35 percent of Amazon's U.S. customers bought items other than books, music and videos over the holidays.
E-Holiday Boasts High Customer Satisfaction January 08, 2001
According to one study, most e-shoppers
are ready to buy from Web merchants again, with
40 percent saying they plan to buy online during January.
Report: E-Commerce To Grow 57 Percent in 2001 January 08, 2001
eMarketer's forecast of a $20.1 billion fourth quarter in 2001 would represent
a 61 percent increase over the same period in 2000.
Report: E-Holiday Traffic Up 30 Percent January 05, 2001
The most notable shift in online purchasing trends during the 2000 holiday season, according to Media Metrix, was the growing influence of brick-and-clicks in the e-commerce arena.
Toysrus.com Rebounds After 1999 Stumble January 05, 2001
Toysrus.com did not include in its holiday sales figures shipping and gift wrap revenue, which would boost the total by 10 to 15 percent.
No E-Commerce Whining in 2001! January 04, 2001
Sometimes it seems as if casting blame is what the dot-com world is all about. But
the blame game only works over the short term.
Patience Is An E-Commerce Virtue January 04, 2001
Every e-tailer should participate in the growth of the e-commerce industry as a whole. Isolationism isn't getting us anywhere.
New Tally Shows $10B E-Holiday January 03, 2001
About 94 percent of consumers in the study said that the online shopping experience was at least as good as in 1999.
Yahoo Slaps Fresh Coat of Gloss on Microsoft Deal Defense June 30, 2008
With its shareholders meeting set to take place in less than five weeks, Yahoo has put together a 32-page presentation, emphasizing why the investors should vote to keep the current board in place. The company also reiterated why it chose to partner with Google instead of letting Microsoft buy part of it.
French Court Stings eBay With $63M Judgment Over Knockoff Sales June 30, 2008
eBay is planning to appeal a ruling by a French court that ordered it to pay $63 million to the luxury goods maker Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey. The court also barred the online auctioneer from selling four brands of perfume on its Web sites accessible in France.
New Auto Loan Leads Marketplace Shifts Into Drive June 30, 2008
Reply.com's move into the auto finance market is a logical one the company, as automotive advertising spending is moving online in increasingly greater amounts. The company is partnering with the Detroit Trading Company to create a massive repository of auto finance leads online.
Headline Feeds
Talkback: 
