• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, December 5, 2005

Just one in five Web shoppers--18 percent--account for almost half--46 percent--of all e-commerce spending, according to a new report by Nielsen//NetRatings.

That small group of heavy shoppers made at least four purchases and spent more than $185 last month. They also use comparison shopping sites. More than half--56 percent--visited Shopping.com, while 48 percent went to Yahoo! Shopping, 42 percent visited Shopzilla, and 21 percent went to MSN Shopping.

In contrast to the heavy shoppers, the majority of e-commerce users--55 percent--made fewer than four purchases and spent less than $185 online. That group, as a whole, accounted for 21 percent of all money spent on online retail last month. They also tended to visit comparison shopping sites, but in smaller proportions than their heavy shopping counterparts.

Forty-four percent of those who made fewer than four purchases and spent less than $185 visited Shopping.com, while 35 percent went to Yahoo! Shopping, 29 percent landed on Shopzilla, and 17 percent went to MSN Shopping.