• by December 7, 2000

Don't tell your boss, but Nielsen//NetRatings today revealed that a critical amount of online holiday shopping is occurring in the workplace. According to the latest weekly Nielsen//NetRatings Holiday E-Commerce Index, 46% of online holiday shopping is happening at work, while 54% is done from home.

"Today, consumer e-commerce has expanded well beyond the limitations of home PC penetration, with many merchants reaching out to their target audience at work during hours in which they would normally not be able to reach them," said Sean Kaldor, VP of eCommerce at NetRatings.

"Surfing for holiday presents is supplanting the water cooler break, as people save time purchasing gifts without leaving their offices. Office workers are surfing during their lunch hours or squeezing in a few minutes of shopping after the work day," he continued.

Nearly all e-tailers saw a surge in shopping this holiday season, but many won their shoppers in the workplace. Online toys site KBKids.com attracted more work shopping than home shopping, with a 61/39% work-home split. Specialty gift providers RedEnvelope.com and Ashford.com saw a large amount of shopping at-work as did clothing retailer Gap.com.

The Nielsen//NetRatings Holiday E-Commerce Index leapt 16% in the week ending December 3, led by specialty gift sites, which increased 80% over the prior week. Ashford.com skyrocketed 385% while RedEnvelope.com more than doubled. Value-oriented sites also performed strongly, garnering 53% more shopping trips than last week, followed by books/music/video merchants, which grew 22%.

Overall online holiday shopping has increased 62% since the start of the holidays, led by the specialty gifts category. The categories for toys and games, and consumer electronics are also attracting shoppers, rising 138% and 88% respectively.