• October 22, 2001

Nielsen//NetRatings estimates that online shoppers will spend a record $9.9 billion during the upcoming holiday season in 13 ecommerce categories, rising 43% from $6.9 billion last year. More than 106 million people will shop online in December, a 27% growth over the 85 million surfers that shopped online last December.

"The number of shoppers for the 2001 holiday season is expected to grow 27%, equating to 21 million more people shopping on the Web compared to last year. This signals a solid outlook for e-tailers who will benefit from an even larger group of shoppers during the upcoming holiday season," said Sean Kaldor, VP of analytical services at NetRatings. "With more people shopping and buying online compared to last year, ecommerce activity is set to post respectable year-over-year growth, despite the effects of the economic slowdown and recent national events."