December 21 2007
‘Twas the final week before Christmas
And not a single high-street retailer stirred. comScore announce the penultimate Christmas e-trading final results
As IR strolled down Oxford Street yesterday evening we weren’t exactly watching tumble weed blow down an empty street, far from it, but it certainly wasn’t as crowded as it could be. However online things couldn’t be better.
According to comScore e-commerce spending for the first 48 days of the November – December 2007 Christmas season (November 1 – December 18), reached nearly $25 billion in the US, marking a 19% gain versus the corresponding days last year. Which surpassed the total spending that occurred for the entire 2006 Christmas season. The most recent two days of sales reporting, Monday, December 17 (up 33% to $700 million) and Tuesday, December 18 (up 25% to $670 million), both showed strong growth versus last year.
“Monday and Tuesday of this final week of pre-Christmas shopping saw strong growth in spending versus year ago, pushing the season-to-date growth rate slightly above 19 percent,” said comScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni. “While it is now safe to say that the heaviest online spending days of the season are behind us, we believe we may continue to see strong growth rates during the remainder of the season due to the late-season shipping deals being offered by some retailers, and consumers’ ability to buy online and pick-up their purchase the same day at the retail store. It’s also clear that many consumers are willing to delay their holiday shopping later in the season this year in an effort to take advantage of any late season price discounts being offered by retailers.”
While the scores on the doors won’t be available in the UK until next year the 2007 Christmas season seems to be the best one yet, and it’s still not over. According to at least one site there are many retailers that are still guaranteeing delivery for Christmas if you order as late as Sunday! And as we write this surrounded by empty bottles of port our email inbox has just delivered a message offering a buy and collect service that’s open until midday on Christmas Eve.
