Record Online Sales Reported for X-mas Shopping Season

$7.92 billion spent Nov/Dec.

[Zapatista]

"Offline retail establishments may be crying foul over the weak economy this holiday season but Internet retailers and outlets struck gold this year with record sales, a strong indication, say Internet retail analysts, that consumers are generally more satisfied with the online shopping experience and will come back for more.

Los Angeles-based e-commerce research firm BizRate.com announced this week that overall online consumer spending reached a staggering $7.92 billion for the months of November and December. This at a time when there were six fewer shopping days per the calendar year than last year."

Full Article: [atnewyork.com...]

Lots of interesting stats

Zapatista

[jsinger]

Great article, especially the comment about free shipping not playing much of a role in web growth this Christmas.

Everytime we RAISE shipping (which we just did) our sales go UP.

Article said web shipping costs went up 14% last year.

I always figured the free shipping was a gimmick used by Dot Coms trying to make figures at the end of a financial reporting period. Shipping is a real cost that shouldn't be free. Most mail order catalogs charge an arm and leg for shipping, sometimes treating it as a major profit center. They've been around a lot longer than the web.

[rcjordan]

Yes, my household tried to single-handedly jumpstart the US economy with online purchases ...no one even flinched when they clicked, not even once.

[TallTroll]

It'll be interesting to see how sales hold up in the new year. If consumers have good experiences over the holidays, they may be more willing to switch a greater and greater percentage of their purchasing over to the internet. Competetion is fierce, which keeps pressure on prices, and most of the problems, real and psychological are solved.

Hold on to your hats, boys...