More Shoppers, Larger Bills Drive Online Sales

Online retail revenue is up this holiday season, driven by both more shoppers and more money spent per buyer. According to one study, more than $12.42 billion has been spent online this season.

by Kristina Knight

comScore studied retail data from November 1, 2006 through December 3, 2006 and found that the 25% gain in spending is split between 17% more shoppers and 7% higher spending.

Computer hardware has the largest spending at $292, followed by consumers electronics at $152 and video game consoles/accessories at $141. Jewelry and watches came in third with $128 and event tickets rounded out the top five with $123 in revenue. These are also some of the fastest growing offline shopping areas.

“Clearly, comScore’s data are confirming that more and more consumers are becoming comfortable buying online,” said Gian Fulgoni, chairman of comScore Networks in a prepared statement. “But, an accentuating factor is that online spending per buyer is also increasing – as a result of more buying transactions and an increase in higher-ticket purchases.”

In a related study, researchers found that the peak hours for online shopping are also work hours. During the week of December 3-December 9, most online money was spent at 1pm Pacific (4pm Eastern) in the U.S.