E-commerce holiday holiday spending slows

Consumer-electronics demand drops from previous week

By Danny King -- Video Business, 12/15/2008

DEC. 15 | U.S. online retail spending fell during the later part of last week after showing strong growth during the week following the Thanksgiving holiday and reaching record levels last Tuesday, ComScore said in a report yesterday. A pullback in consumer-electronics demand helped lead to the overall spending decline.

Customers spent $3.81 billion for the five days ended Dec. 12, down 1% from $3.86 billion a year earlier, despite a single-day record of $887 million being spent online on Dec. 9, according to ComScore. Overall holiday-season spending remained about even with last year at $19.4 billion. Last month, ComScore said online retail spending for November and December would be $29.2 billion, also even with last year.

Lured by sub-$200 Blu-ray Disc set-top players and cheaper flat-screen TV sets during the week following Thanksgiving, consumer-electronics shoppers have since reined in their spending habits. For the 12 days ended Dec. 12, consumer-electronics spending was even with a year earlier after surging 24% during the first five days of the month, ComScore said.

“After a very strong first week of December, e-commerce sales growth slowed somewhat during the most recent week,” ComScore chairman Gian Fulgoni said in a statement. “With Christmas now fast approaching, look for online retailers to continue to offer enticing last-minute deals, including discounts on expedited shipping, to spur a final wave of spending.”

The Consumer Electronics Assn. said earlier this month that overall fourth-quarter consumer-electronics revenue would be little changed from a year earlier, while the NPD Group said last week that consumer-electronics sales the day after Thanksgiving, or Black Friday, fell for the first time in history.