Online holiday spending drops 2%

Consumers buy moderately post-Thanksgiving

By Danny King -- Video Business, 12/17/2008

DEC. 17 | U.S. online retail spending fell last weekend after showing strong growth during the week following the Thanksgiving holiday and reaching record levels last Tuesday, ComScore said in a report today.

Customers spent $4.54 billion for the week ended Dec. 14, down 2% from $4.64 billion a year earlier and marking a steeper decline than the 1% drop for the five days ended Dec. 12, according to ComScore. Overall holiday-season retail spending fell about $100 million from a year earlier to $20.2 billion.

“It appears that the spending surge we saw immediately following Thanksgiving has given way to more moderate buying during the most recent week,” ComScore chairman Gian Fulgoni said in a statement today.

Earlier this week, ComScore said consumer-electronics spending was about even with a year earlier after surging 24% during the first five days of the month, reflecting a more conservative approach customers have taken since being lured by sub-$200 Blu-ray Disc players and cheaper flat-screen TV sets during the week following Thanksgiving. ComScore didn’t break out retail categories.

Yesterday, the National Retail Federation said fewer people have started their holiday shopping than a year earlier, indicating a likely spending surge during the upcoming weeks. About one in four shoppers are buying consumer-electronics items for the holidays while 40% are buying DVDs, videogames, CDs and books, NRF said.

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