More customers chose to point and click rather than park and swipe this Christmas season, with a five percent increase in online shopping over the same period last year, a study by the Internet marketing firm comScore says. By comparison, in-store retail shopping grew only 3.6 percent, according to credit-card spending tracked by Mastercard Advisor’s’ Spending Pulse.
“Overall this year, we have seen increasing stability in spending, as opposed to the free fall of 2008,” noted Michael McNamara, vice president of research and analysis for SpendingPulse.
Cyber Monday A Success
Cyber Monday, the day after the Thanksgiving weekend when online retailers usually offer their best deals and, often, free shipping, raked in $885 million, up five percent from last year’s $834 million.
A significant share of the online boost was in electronics sales, which grew by slightly more than 20 percent, with jewelry and watches also producing solid sales. Overall, an estimated $27 billion was spent online.
Steve Koenig, director of industry analysis for the Consumer Electronics Association, attributed the sales boost to better marketing and promotion by retailers.
“Sellers are trying different things other than just the usual loss-leader approach,” Koenig said. “They have used a number of market plays old and new to coax consumers to open their wallets, and the data we have so far suggests they have been successful.”
One such successful tactic, Koenig said, is bundling, or selling multiple, related products at one price. For example, he said Best Buy offered a Hewlett-Packard PC, monitor, notebook and netbook, plus a wireless router with home installation for about $1,200.
But he said while unit sales climbed this year, the revenue generated fell because of the abundance of lower-priced items.
“There were fewer large-screen TVs, but more midsize models in the 20- to 30-inch range sold,” he said. “I also think there is some trading down…
Buy This Item: [Click here to buy this item]