• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, January 3, 2005

If offline commerce ballooned over the week ending Dec. 26, then online commerce nearly burst-- thanks to a 53 percent year-over-year gain, according to comScore Networks' latest e-commerce update released Thursday. From Nov. 1 through Dec. 26, consumers spent $14.8 billion online-- representing a 29 percent year-over-year increase, comScore reported.

A comScore spokesman attributed the online spending spurt to later shipping deadlines, continued efforts by retailers to integrate on- and offline capabilities--and the confidence this coordination instills in consumers--offline products shortages, and the popularity of gift cards.

As is historically the case, Christmas week e-commerce levels were less than half of those leading up to Christmas week, said comScore.

Separately, VeriSign reported Thursday that consumers spent $8.8 billion online between Thanksgiving Day and Dec. 27 (almost four weeks shorter than comScore's holiday season). This figure represents a 24 percent year-over-year increase. The final five shopping days during the week of December 20 accounted for $1.5 billion in online purchases, VeriSign reported. The average price of an online purchase reached a season-high of $178 on the Wednesday before Christmas, it said.

"The 2004 online holiday shopping season has proved highly successful, with virtually every indicator showing growth," Trevor Healy, vice president of payment services at VeriSign, said in a statement. "From spikes in merchant categories to new shopping phenomena like Black Monday, we continue to observe the impact the online marketplace has on traditional shopping-behavior patterns."

Healy noted specific changes in consumer behavior, such as intensified weekday shopping activity, more confidence in buying digital goods from e-commerce sites, an increase in gift card purchases, and better shipping lead times.

The fastest-growing e-commerce category was photo printing and sharing, which increased 120 percent year-over-year. Electronics-related online transactions increased 17 percent. That category carried an average ticket price of $291, the highest average price across all categories. Furthermore, online transactions for apparel increased 45 percent this season compared to 2003, and entertainment-related online transactions increased 54 percent compared to 2003.