The 2001 online holiday shopping season comes to a close with Americans spending $13.8 billion during the eight weeks in November and December, according to the eSpending report released today by
Goldman Sachs, Harris Interactive and Nielsen//NetRatings.
Preliminary results reveal that online spending grew 15 percent year-over-year, with consumers reporting that 13 percent of their holiday
shopping budget was spent online.
By comparison, during the 2000 holiday season, Americans spent more than $12 billion online, based on eCommercePulse, a monthly survey of 36,000 Internet users by
Harris Interactive and Nielsen//NetRatings. Online spending in December 2001 increased 41 percent as compared to November 2001.
"Online holiday spending continued its growth, despite pressures from
the slowing U.S. economy. However, the 15 percent increase is more modest than the higher gains experienced in seasons past," said Lori Iventosch-James, director of ecommerce research at Harris
Interactive.
Holiday spending during the last two weeks in November and the first two weeks in December comprised 65 percent of the season's total, marking more than $9 billion in revenue.
Spending peaked during the first week of December, as more than one in five Internet users, or 20 percent, made a purchase online.
"Unlike traditional retailers who have the luxury of time and are
able to sell to shoppers till the very last minute, ecommerce sites must move their products within a much shorter shopping season," added Iventosch-James. "The steady stream of special sales and free
shipping offers during the peak online shopping weeks attracted consumers and helped etailers achieve higher revenue growth."