Total U.S. E-Commerce to Reach $200 Billion in 2007
During the first nine months of 2007, total e-commerce spending surpassed $143 billion, putting it on pace to reach $200 billion by the end of the year. Retail e-commerce accounted for nearly $84 billion, or 58 percent of the total, while online travel spending came in just shy of $60 billion.
Video Games, Consoles & Accessories Continue Torrid Sales Online
Video games, consoles & accessories continues to be the hottest retail category, nearly tripling its online sales from last year on the strength of Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation 3-related sales. Consumer electronics was the second-fastest growing category in Q3 (up 58 percent), with high definition and flat screen TVs helping move the needle. It appears that recalls and reports of potentially harmful toy products manufactured in Asia may be accelerating sales of new toys online, since the toys & hobbies category ranked as the third fastest growing category (up 57 percent) during the quarter.
"Despite the negative publicity of toy recalls, the third quarter saw robust growth for online toy sales," continued Mr. Fulgoni. "Given some of the uncertainty surrounding the holiday season, it's possible that consumers were responding to fears of toy shortages and making their purchases early. In addition, it could be that consumers were replacing recalled toys with other new toys. We'll be closely monitoring growth rates in the fourth quarter to see if these positive trends continue, or if what we're seeing is simply a short-term reaction to the recalls."
