• by Ken Liebeskind , December 7, 2001

The Nielsen//NetRatings Holiday eCommerce Index today revealed that online shopping surged 59% during the week ending December 2, posting the biggest gain thus far for the holiday e-commerce season. Surfers conducted more than 117 million shopping visits during the week, compared to nearly 74 million visits at the beginning of the season, the week ending October 28.

"After a solid Thanksgiving shopping week, consumers rushed back online the following week to make their holiday gift purchases, while taking advantage of the many promotions and sales," said Lisa Strand, director and chief analyst, NetRatings. "The 59% growth puts shopping activity right on par with last year's results, which jumped 62% for the same week in 2000."

"This year, with the U.S. economy in a full-fledged recession, it's encouraging to see that holiday ecommerce has caught up to last year's pace with the next two shopping weeks serving as critical benchmarks for the entire season," added Strand.

Hot Shopping Categories

Toys and games continued to dominate the categories, skyrocketing 123% since the beginning of the holiday season. Consumer electronics maintained its popularity with shoppers, spiking 97% and claiming the second fastest growing category this season. Home and garden captured the No. 3 spot, as shopping visits for the category grew 82%.

Shopping aggregators, which include portal-affiliated sites, took the No. 4 spot, increasing nearly 81% from the last week in October. Rounding out the top five, apparel jumped 67% since the beginning of the holiday season.

"In sheer size of shopping visits, shopping aggregators such as the Yahoo!, AOL and MSN online malls are neck-and-neck with well-known virtual department stores such as Amazon.com in attracting consumers," said Strand. "Shopping aggregators offer consumers the power to browse through a myriad of online storefronts, drawing a steady stream of visitors with one-stop shopping combined with the ability to comparison shop."