“Online holiday spending has remained strong through Christmas and we’ve already seen the season totals easily surpass the levels of the past few years to set a new record for spending at almost $31 billion,” said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni. “For at least this holiday season, the American consumer has been able to shrug off the continuing economic challenges of high unemployment rates and depressed housing prices and spend at a rate that has been slightly stronger than we had expected. After the past few years’ struggles, it is gratifying to see e-commerce return to a state that can only be described as a very merry holiday shopping season.”
Top Growing Retail Categories
Computer Hardware ranks as the top growing category for the holiday season to date with a 23-percent increase versus last year. Purchases of handheld devices (such as Apple iPads and e-readers) and laptop computers have driven much of the category growth. Books & Magazines ranks second with 22 percent growth, followed by Consumer Electronics (up 21 percent), Computer Software excluding PC Games (up 20 percent) and Toys (up 16 percent). Other categories in the top ten included Jewelry & Watches (up 11 percent) and Apparel & Accessories (up 8 percent).
About comScore
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