Online Holiday Sales Numbers Strong

KRL · 12-03-2003

NEW YORK · Shoppers crowded the Internet as well as store aisles during the Thanksgiving weekend.

BizRate.com, a comparison shopping site that also tracks sales at 2,000 e-commerce sites, reported that sales increased 30 percent on Thanksgiving Day to $197 million, compared with $151 million a year ago.

"Thursday was strong. Broadband is definitely having an effect," said Chuck Davis, CEO of BizRate.com. "Online shopping has also become more mainstream."

For the four-day weekend ended Sunday, BizRate.com reported that sales for the 2,000 sites it tracks totaled $820 million, compared with $735 million during the year-ago period.

According to BizRate.com, Monday remained the busiest day of the holiday weekend, reaching $256 million, up 26 percent from $203 million a year ago. But this year, Davis noted there was another spike at 6 p.m., not just one at noon, indicating that consumers are doing more of their shopping from home.

Online sales are expected to be a bright spot this holiday season.

Forrester Research estimated that online sales from Thanksgiving weekend to Christmas will increase 42 percent over a year ago to $12.2 billion. The results include travel and auction sites.

Jupiter Research, a division of Jupitermedia Corp., projects that online sales will be up 21 percent to $17 billion for the November and December period. The results exclude travel and auction sites.

From Nov. 1 through Nov. 30, online retail sales reached $5.89 billion, a 22 percent increase from $4.85 billion for the same period a year ago, according to BizRate.com.

12-03-2003	#1
KRL Members Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 339	NEW YORK · Shoppers crowded the Internet as well as store aisles during the Thanksgiving weekend. BizRate.com, a comparison shopping site that also tracks sales at 2,000 e-commerce sites, reported that sales increased 30 percent on Thanksgiving Day to $197 million, compared with $151 million a year ago. "Thursday was strong. Broadband is definitely having an effect," said Chuck Davis, CEO of BizRate.com. "Online shopping has also become more mainstream." For the four-day weekend ended Sunday, BizRate.com reported that sales for the 2,000 sites it tracks totaled $820 million, compared with $735 million during the year-ago period. According to BizRate.com, Monday remained the busiest day of the holiday weekend, reaching $256 million, up 26 percent from $203 million a year ago. But this year, Davis noted there was another spike at 6 p.m., not just one at noon, indicating that consumers are doing more of their shopping from home. Online sales are expected to be a bright spot this holiday season. Forrester Research estimated that online sales from Thanksgiving weekend to Christmas will increase 42 percent over a year ago to $12.2 billion. The results include travel and auction sites. Jupiter Research, a division of Jupitermedia Corp., projects that online sales will be up 21 percent to $17 billion for the November and December period. The results exclude travel and auction sites. From Nov. 1 through Nov. 30, online retail sales reached $5.89 billion, a 22 percent increase from $4.85 billion for the same period a year ago, according to BizRate.com. __________________ Quick Buck "Value and buy domains not for what they did yesterday or today, but rather for what they can be built to do in the future."