Online holiday shopping binge picking up steam, says report

As of last month, consumers have spent an estimated $1.5 billion in online shopping, a 28 percent increase compared to the same period last year, said comScore Networks in a report.

The US-based company, which tracks the behavior of online consumers, including buying and Web browsing patterns, also reported that holiday e-commerce is on the rise due to the increasing number of online buyers which, in turn, is fueling online sales growth.

The company reported that as of November, some 9.2 million Internet users were buying online, an increase of about 36 percent versus the same period last year.

According to comScore, online spending for non-travel goods and services such as toys, movies, videos, flowers and gifts, apparel and consumer electronics, increased on a sequential basis, from $905 million the week ending Nov. 10 to $976 million the week ending Nov. 17.

ComScore reported that on a per category basis, flowers and gifts registered the biggest increase with 103 percent, followed by consumer electronics, up by 92 percent; apparel, up by 70 percent; movies and videos, up by 68 percent; and toys, up by 68 percent.

"E-commerce will continue to outgrow traditional retail, as the Internet appeals to a growing number of consumers in search of the best deals, convenience and breadth of offerings," said Michelle David Adams, comScore Networks vice president.

According to comScore, its reported sales figures are not based on website traffic estimates or self-reported consumer surveys, but on the actual buying of more than 1.5 million Internet users who have given their permission to comScore to monitor their browsing and online buying.

Further, using the number of unique visitors as a gauge, comScore reported that Amazon.com tops the Top 5 list of online retailers, followed by Dell.com, Dealtime.com, Freeze.com and Pricegrabber.com.

Other notable online retailers in the Top 10 list include Columbiahouse.com, Cdnow.com, Coolsavings.com, Walmart.com and Hallmark.com.

In terms of travel spending, comScore reported that online travel spending decreased from $726 million the week ending Nov. 10 to $530 million the week ending Nov. 17.

Still, this category posted strong year-on-year sales growth in both weeks at 66 percent and 56 percent, respectively. Slightly lower growth in the number of travel buyers in the same period a year ago indicates that the average travel buyer is spending more online this holiday period.

"Despite some turbulence, overall growth in online travel spending shows that consumers plan to take to the skies and roads for the holidays, more than they likely did last year," said Adams.

ComScore also reported that worldwide visitors to travel websites have slowly but steadily increased, reaching 112.6 million in the week ending Nov. 10.

ComScore’s Top 10 travel websites are Expedia.com, Orbitz.com, Travelocity.com, Priceline.com, Southwest.com, Cheaptickets.com, Hotwire.com, Delta.com, Hotels.com and Lastminute.com. — Quadmedia News Agency