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According to comScore, the top growing online product category for the season was Sport & Fitness, which grew 18 percent versus year ago. The category continues to benefit from consumers' focus on health and fitness and consumers feeling more comfortable purchasing higher-priced fitness equipment, such as treadmills and elliptical machines, online. The second fastest-growing category was Video Games, Consoles & Accessories, which grew 14 percent on continued demand for popular consoles, such as the Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Apparel & Accessories, the only other product category with positive online growth, generated higher sales as a result of retailers' aggressive discounting and promotions, and helped by unfavorable weather across much of the country.
Top Online Product Categories for 2008 Holiday Season Online Non-Travel Spending Excludes Auctions and Large Corporate Purchases Dec. 1-24, 2008 vs. Nov. 26 -- Dec. 19, 2007 Total U.S. -- Home/Work/University Locations Source: comScore, Inc. Product Category Y/Y Percent Change Sport & Fitness 18% Video Games, Consoles & Accessories 14% Apparel & Accessories 4% Books & Magazines -1% Consumer Electronics -5% Flowers, Greetings & Gifts -7% Toys -7% Computer Hardware -8% Home, Garden & Furniture -14% Event Tickets -18% Jewelry & Watches -24% Computer Software (Excl. PC Games) -24% Office Supplies -30% Music, Movies & Videos -32%
A comparison to the MasterCard Advisors' data revealed that the online trends in several product categories outperformed overall consumer spending in those categories, including:
-- Sales of Apparel & Accessories up 4 percent online, compared to a 19-21 percent decline in overall sales of the category. -- Consumer Electronics declined 5 percent online and Home, Garden and Furniture declined 14 percent online. This compares to a 26-percent decline in overall sales of Electronics/ Appliances. -- Jewelry & Watches declined 24 percent online, compared to a 34-percent decline in overall sales of Luxury Goods (including Jewelry & Watches).
"For an online holiday shopping season that recorded a disappointing
3-percent decline in sales, a positive note is that e-commerce trends
outperformed overall consumer spending in several product categories, which is
to say that e-commerce continued to capture an increasing share of consumers'
wallet," said comScore chairman
Wealthiest Households Spent More Online this Holiday Season
comScore also analyzed non-travel e-commerce spending by household income
segment for the holiday shopping season, revealing that growth in online
spending only occurred (up 7 percent) within households making at least
2008 Holiday Season vs. Corresponding Days in 2007 Online Non-Travel Spending Excludes Auctions and Large Corporate Purchases Dec. 1-24, 2008 vs. Nov. 26 -- Dec. 19, 2007 Total U.S. -- Home/Work/University Locations Source: comScore, Inc. Annual Household Income Growth Rate $0-$49,999 -13% $50,000-$99,999 -8% $100,000+ 7%
About comScore
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SOURCE comScore, Inc.