Holiday Spending Numbers Come in Below Projections
Jupiter Research and The NPD Group, Inc. both estimate that online spending during the 2000 holiday season came in below their projections, but both claim the season was good to e-tailers.
Jupiter Research and The NPD Group, Inc. both estimate that online spending during the 2000 holiday season came in below their projections, but both claim the season was good to e-tailers.
US consumers spent $10.8 billion online during the 2000 holiday season — a 54 percent increase over the $7 billion spent last year — despite concerns of a poor holiday season, according to Jupiter Research.
Online Sales by Category November and December (millions of dollars) |
|
Travel reservations | $2,551 |
Computer hardware/ Peripherals |
$1,216 | Apparel | $1,144 |
Auctions | $937 |
Toys | $839 |
Consumer electronics | $810 |
Books | $774 |
Financial services | $539 |
Music | $443 |
Flowers/Greetings/ Gift items |
$420 |
Computer software | $359 |
Movies/Videos/DVDs | $348 |
Office and school supplies | $291 |
Grocery items | $240 |
Beauty | $233 |
Sporting goods | $222 |
Video games | $198 |
Shoes | $175 |
Prescription drugs | $141 |
Pet supplies | $113 |
Other categories | $207 |
Total Projection | $12,200 |
Source: The NPD Group, Inc. |
The Jupiter Post-Holiday 2000 Consumer Survey, which asked more than 2000 online consumers about their holiday purchasing patterns between November and December 2000, reveals that during the holiday season approximately 36 million consumers purchased online and spent an average of $304 worth of merchandise.
“Online retailers who invested in improving back-end operations this year were winners in satisfying holiday online shoppers,” said Heather Dougherty, analyst at Jupiter Research. “However, moving forward, the challenge is for retailers to retain and expand customer relationships, and continue to increase online sales to justify the operations investments well into 2001.”
Additional findings from the survey include:
According to The NPD Group, Inc., online holiday revenues reached an all-time high of $12.2 billion. This is also slightly lower than NPD’s forecast, but online sales still nearly doubled during November and December, compared to the same period last year.
Because of high price points, online travel reservations accounted for the largest portion of the online revenue, capturing 21 percent of total sales, NPD found. Travel, computer hardware, apparel, toys, consumer electronics, and books comprised 60 percent of online revenues during the holidays. Auctions and financial services made up another 12 percent.
“After all of the worry and hype, online sales just about lived up to expectations,” said Pamela Smith, VP of NPD Online Research. “The stage is set for consumers to move more of their purchases online. But just like any other retail channel, e-tailers now need to understand what is important to their buyers and learn how to profitably deliver on these needs.”
NPD’s e-Commerce 2001 Consumers Speak Out e-Visory report is based on a survey conducted in January 2001 among 2,439 members of NPD’s Online Panel.