Consumers Stay Home and Shop
By George Anderson
The late autumn storms that brought retail store sales to a near standstill last week did not dim the shopping spirit of consumers who went online to spend $2 billion.
The market research firm comScore Networks said online retail sales for the week after Thanksgiving grew 34 percent over the previous week.
Michelle David Adams, vice president, comScore Networks told Reuters, “Things like books, CDs and DVDs have had strong sales in past years. Now consumers are buying more personal objects such as apparel and accessories, and jewelry and watches, two categories that demonstrate an increased comfort level with buying online.”
Consumer spending on jewelry and watches grew 66 percent between Nov. 1 and Dec. 6 compared to last year. Apparel and accessory sales jumped 26 percent during the same period.
Moderator’s Comment: Does tracking online and in-store
sales separately make it easier or more difficult to evaluate the true health
of retailing?
A sale is a sale is a sale is a sale… Research demonstrates
that consumers want it all. They want the convenience of ordering online while
being able to pickup and return items to a store location. Even Amazon.com has
recognized this in deals it has made with partners such as Borders Books.
[George
Anderson – Moderator]