Web Shoppers Refuse To Bail Out Economy: Holiday Sales Down 1%
Comscore, the Web analytics company which has been bringing us a weekly installment of grim news about Christmas sales since November, weighs in with its newest update. Want to hazard a guess?
Yup, more of the same: Holiday sales from November 1 through December 19 are down 1% compared to the same period in 2007. Which is right in line with Comscore’s (SCOR) prediction of flat online sales for the holiday.
If you’d like a rosier glow to these numbers, Comscore tries to oblige, by noting that average online spending between Thanksgiving and Dec. 19 is actually up 5% per day. But since there are fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year compared to previous years, that won’t help retailers’ top or bottom lines.
What are people buying on Amazon (AMZN) and other electronic storefronts? Fewer flat screen TVs, Comscore says, either because promotional discounts have tapered off, or because everyone who needs a 42″ LCD on their wall has already got one.