• by Masha Geller , January 3, 2002

It looks like people are getting more and more comfortable shopping online, even though there is still a healthy amount of skepticism among consumers when it comes to buying online and Jupiter Media Metrix is reporting that online-only retailers really struggled to respond to customer service emails quickly this holiday season.

According to data from the Pew Internet Project, close to 29 million people bought gifts online during the holiday season in 2001 and the average spent online was $392 per person. That is an increase from the approximately 20 million people who bought gifts online last year and spent an average of $330.

Additionally, fewer people complained about or worried about the potential hassles of purchasing goods online, Pew found. Interestingly enough, women topped men in holiday online shopping - 58% of those who bought gifts online during the most recent shopping season were women.

At the same time, Pew found that some 64% of online Americans used the Internet for social or spiritual activities, compared to 48% who used the Internet for gift ideas, price comparisons, or actual purchases.

But overall, Pew says that the entire population of e-shoppers continues to grow. Researchers estimate that 58% of all Internet users have ever bought a product online, up from 51% last year at this time. That represents a jump of 11 million in the online shopping universe as it grew from 53 million adults in the holiday season in 2000 to 64 million this holiday season.