Retail e-commerce (non-travel) increased 19% compared with Oct. 2006 levels and reached nearly $10 billion (excluding auctions and large corporate purchases), according to comScore’s US e-commerce spending figures for October. Total e-commerce spending, including travel, totaled nearly $16.5 billion.
The October growth marked a slight decline from growth rates observed earlier in the year: Retail e-commerce sales in the first three quarters of the year were approximately 21% more than in the year-earlier period.
“October e-commerce activity often gives us a glimpse of what to expect during the holiday season,” said comScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni.
“That online sales growth rates diminished slightly in October is not entirely unexpected, as many consumers are feeling the pinch of ballooning mortgages and gas prices, coupled with a decline in housing values. ”
Pre-Holiday Shopping Season
The videogames, consoles & accessories retail category posted the strongest gains in October compared with Oct. 2006, jumping 264%; sales of Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation consoles and accessories, as well as videogame Halo 3, continued to drive that growth.
Furniture, appliances & equipment also had a strong month, up 105% compared with a year earlier, followed by computer software (up 76%) and event tickets (up 43%).
Apparel & accessories, one of the largest online retail categories, grew just 5%.
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“Soft online apparel sales in October mirror reports of declining same-store sales figures in retail apparel, as unseasonably warm weather across many part of the country appeared to dampen consumer demand,” Fulgoni said.
“Excluding apparel from our analysis, online retail sales actually grew at a healthier 22% rate. Assuming that apparel sales rebound during November and December, this suggests that 2007 may well see another merry Christmas for online retailers.”
