ComScore, Inc. estimated third-quarter e-commerce sales in the United States rose 9% to $32.1 billion in the third quarter versus year ago. This growth rate represented the fourth consecutive quarter of positive year-over-year growth following a year of flat or negative growth rates.
By comparison the U.S. Department of Commerce estimates total retail sales for sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores rose 3.7% in the nine-month YTD period.
“Retail e-commerce growth in the third quarter remained solid at 9 percent, a fairly positive indicator for the upcoming holiday season,” said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni. “However, we continue to preach caution Until the economy begins adding jobs at a meaningful rate, the lack of spending power among consumers will continue to be a drag on purchasing, with many consumers indicating their intention to cut back on gift buying this holiday season.”
ComScore reported that the top-performing online product categories for the month were Books & Magazines (excl. digital downloads), Computers/Peripherals/PDAs, Computer Software (excl. PC Games) and Consumer Electronics, indicating a higher willingness of consumers to spend on in-home entertainment.
The top 25 online retailers accounted for 70% percent of dollars spent online, up 5.5 percentage points vs. year ago. Online “pure play” retailers accounted for 58% of dollars spent online compared to 42% among multichannel retailers, unchanged vs. year ago. Forty one percent of online retail transactions included free shipping, down marginally from last year.
