2006 Sees Record Breaking Holiday Sales

Dec 26, 2006 by Tamar Weinberg | E-commerce

Holiday Shopping Bag Allow me to share with you some exciting sales statistics for 2006.

According to comScore, online non-travel holiday spending between November and December went up 25% to $24.6 billion dollars for 2006, up from $19.6 billion a year ago.

What does this mean? There is increased consumer trust in online marketplaces, and as more and more consumers continue to value the convenience of online shopping, more and more consumers will buy. 2007 will likely see a greater increase too.

Here are some more interesting facts:

$457.4 billion – 2006 holiday sales, both online and offline
$435.6 billion – 2005 holiday sales, both online and offline
51.7 million – people who shopped online from work for holiday gifts in 2005 (see what I mean about convenience?)

$791 – Amount each consumer is expected to spend this year.
$451.34 – Will be spent on family.
$99.22 – On himself or herself.
$85.60 – On friends.
$22.40 – On co-workers.
$44.52 – On people like clergy, teachers, and baby sitters.
$30.57 – On greeting cards and postage.

[via Gizmodo via Christmas Spirit]

Here’s hoping that all you retailers did a great job in 2006. And given that 2007 is just a few days away, make sure to optimize those sites for the upcoming holiday season!

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1314 Responses2006+Sees+Record+Breaking+Holiday+Sales2006-12-26+16%3A59%3A40Tamar+Weinberg to “2006 Sees Record Breaking Holiday Sales”

Chris Winfield on December 26th, 2006 8:41 pm

Tamar -

I just saw that Amazon broke all their records again:

Amazon.com Inc.’s 2006 holiday season peaked with more than 4 million orders placed on Dec. 11, the Web retailer said Tuesday. That broke last year’s single-day record of more than 3.6 million orders set on Dec. 12.

In its 12th holiday season, Amazon.com said it again had its “best ever” sales and that it shipped more than 99 percent of orders in time to meet holiday deadlines around the globe. As many as 3.4 million units went out in a single day.
Tamar Weinberg on December 27th, 2006 9:17 am

Nice — this is the first time I actually didn’t buy from Amazon, but there’s still stuff sitting in my shopping cart!
comScore Reports Heaviest Online Spending Due to Procrastinators on December 23rd, 2007 5:12 pm

[...] 10e20 is also reporting on holiday spending: What does this mean? There is increased consumer trust in online marketplaces, and as more and more consumers continue to value the convenience of online shopping, more and more consumers will buy. 2007 will likely see a greater increase too. [...]
Mexabet on April 7th, 2009 9:35 am

I notice this increase in consumer trust in online shopping. I'm even buying more online these days.