Sales During Online Holiday Shopping Season Decline By 3 Percent
Posted on: Tuesday, 30 December 2008, 17:15 CST
RESTON, Va., Dec. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- comScore (Nasdaq: SCOR), a
leader in measuring the digital world, today reported its tracking of holiday
season retail e-commerce spending for the holiday shopping season, beginning
November 1 and ending December 23, the last day to purchase online with the
possibility of delivery by Christmas Eve. Online spending reached $25.5
billion during that period, down 3 percent versus the corresponding shopping
days in 2007.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080115/COMSCORELOGO)
2008 Holiday Season vs. Corresponding Days* in 2007
Non-Travel (Retail) Spending
Excludes Auctions and Large Corporate Purchases
Total U.S. - Home/Work/University Locations
Source: comScore, Inc.
Millions ($)
Pct
Holiday Season 2007 2008 Change
November 1 - December 23 $26,332 $25,537 -3%
*Corresponding days based on corresponding shopping days (Oct. 27 - Dec.
18, 2007)
"The 2008 online holiday shopping season has declined 3 percent versus
year ago, falling behind our expectation of flat sales this year," said
comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni. "This marks the first time we've seen negative
growth rates for the holiday season since we began tracking e-commerce in
2001. The combination of having five fewer shopping days between Thanksgiving
and Christmas and the severe economic headwinds faced by consumers has made
this a really tough season for retailers, both offline and online."
Q4 E-Commerce Spending to Date
The growth rate for Q4 2008 to date compared to the same period a year ago
will end up looking marginally worse than the holiday season results. For the
period of October 1 - December 28 compared to the same calendar days in 2008,
e-commerce spending is down 4 percent to 36.8 billion. The fourth quarter of
2008 will also mark the first full quarter to record a negative growth rate
since comScore began tracking e-commerce.
Fourth Quarter-to-Date E-Commerce Spending
Non-Travel (Retail) Spending
Excludes Auctions and Large Corporate Purchases
Total U.S. - Home/Work/University Locations
Source: comScore, Inc.
Millions ($)
Pct
Q4-to-Date 2007 2008 Change
October 1 - December 28 $38,376 $36,803 -4%
Apple and Amazon among Top Traffic Gainers in December
Despite soft online sales this holiday season, consumers continued to shop
online for the best deals. In the period of December 1-24 vs. the
corresponding shopping days last year, several top retailers achieved growth
in visitation to their sites. eBay remained the most visited retail site with
85.4 million visitors but saw a slight decline of 4 percent in visitors, while
three of the top five most visited sites recorded gains. Amazon Sites grew 7
percent to 76.2 million visitors, followed by Wal-Mart (up 4 percent to 51.5
million visitors), Target (down 1 percent to 46.8 million visitors) and Apple
Inc. (up 19 percent to 35 million visitors).
Traffic Growth to Top Retailer Sites
Dec. 1 - Dec. 24, 2008 vs. Corresponding Days* in 2007
Total U.S. - Home/Work/University Locations
Source: comScore Media Metrix
Unique Visitors (000)
Percent
2007 2008 Change
Total Internet 171,113 179,997 5%
eBay 88,894 85,442 -4%
Amazon Sites 70,975 76,240 7%
Wal-Mart 49,632 51,546 4%
Target Corporation 47,338 46,837 -1%
Apple Inc. 29,450 35,017 19%
Best Buy Sites 28,602 28,555 0%
JCPenney Sites 21,329 18,918 -11%
Toysrus Sites 19,817 18,075 -9%
Sears.com 18,010 18,413 2%
Circuit City Stores, Inc. 19,466 15,456 -21%
Overstock.com 18,911 15,951 -16%
AmericanGreetings Property 17,273 14,666 -15%
Hewlett Packard 15,217 19,425 28%
Dell 17,279 14,305 -17%
Macy's Inc. 15,715 15,868 1%
*Corresponding days based on corresponding shopping days (Oct. 27 - Dec.
19, 2007)
comScore's Summary of 2008 Holiday Online Retail Spending by Key Time
Period
Online Non-Travel (Retail) Holiday Consumer Spending
Excludes Auctions and Large Corporate Purchases
Total U.S. - Home/Work/University Locations
Source: comScore, Inc.
Millions ($)
Pct
2007 2008 Change
January - October $93,551 $102,144 9%
November 1 - December 23* $26,332 $25,537 -3%
November 27 (Thanksgiving Day)* $273 $288 6%
November 28 (Black Friday)* $531 $534 1%
December 1 (Cyber Monday)* $733 $846 15%
Heaviest Online Shopping Day $881 $887
(Dec. 10) (Dec. 9) 1%
* Versus Corresponding Shopping Days in 2007 Relative to Thanksgiving
About comScore
comScore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital
world and preferred source of digital marketing intelligence. For more
information, please visit http://www.comscore.com/companyinfo.
SOURCE comScore
Source: PR Newswire
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