Online sales for the week ended Dec. 19 reached $5.5 billion, an increase of 14% versus the corresponding week last year, according to ComScore Inc. About $900 million of that sum came on the final shopping weekend before Christmas, when spending surged 17% beyond their level for the comparable period last year — apparently with a big boost from free shipping offers.
Online sales for the 49-day holiday period from Nov. 1 through Dec. 19 reached $28.36 billion, up 12% versus the corresponding days last year.
In the five-day week ending Dec. 17, the percentage of transactions with free shipping reached 52.7%, 12 percentage points higher than the corresponding time period last year, the most sizeable gap observed this season.
