US holiday shoppers spent $8.5 billion online in November

December 10, 2003

The latest Holiday eSpending Report from Goldman Sachs, Harris Interactive and Nielsen//NetRatings indicates that holiday shoppers spent $8.5 billion online in the US in November of this year. The report explains that the total does not include online travel spending, but does represent a 55% leap over online spending in November of last year.

The study determines that books were purchased online by 5.3% of survey respondents who spent a total of $761 million. Apparel was bought online by 5.2% of respondents who spent $1.6 billion on clothing.

The American Express Retail Index indicates that 54% of US consumers plan to either comparison shop, browse, buy or send electronic cards online this holiday season, up from 46% last year. American Express reports that US holiday shoppers plan to spend 26% of their holiday gift budget online this year.

Many surveys conducted this year continue to indicate consumers’ appreciation of the convenience of online shopping -- no crowds, the ability to shop whenever and the ability to comparison shop. According to a Yahoo! survey conducted by Harris Interactive, consumers are not only taking advantage of the Net’s convenience at home, but they are also conducting online shopping at work.

The study determined that 28% of the 1,537 employed respondents say they will do some of their online holiday shopping at the office. Of those people, 57% plan to holiday shop online during their lunch hour or during a break, whereas just 24% will save it until after work hours. Based on historical US Department of Commerce data, eMarketer projects $17.8 billion will be spent online this year during the Q4 holiday season. For further analysis of online retail sales, read eMarketer’s Retail Industry Online report.

Source: eMarketer

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