Bhupendra Kunwar Blog

ComScore Networks says holiday season helped spending increase over the $100 billion threshold.
By Keisha Lamothe, CNNMoney.com staff writer
4 Jan 2007

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Online shopping jumped this past year as spending accelerated during the last two months of the holiday season, according to the latest report from market research firm ComScore Networks.

For the full year 2006, total online retail spending, excluding travel-related purchases, reached $102.1 billion, marking a 24 percent increase versus 2005, the firm said.

Shoppers waiting until the last minute accounted for the surge in online retail spending during the final three weeks of the season. Spending surged 31 percent from a year earlier, while sales the week before Christmas increased 45 percent.
Online retail spending saw 12 days during the November/December holiday season surpassing the $600 million mark. The heaviest online spending day of the year was Dec. 13 with $667 million spent.

Online holiday e-commerce accounted for $24.6 billion, up 26 percent versus last year. ComScore initially had expected holiday sales on the Internet to grow 24 percent to $24.3 billion.

“2006 was certainly an exceptional year for online retailers as e-commerce spending eclipsed $100 billion for the first time, and growth remained very strong with a 24 percent increase versus last year,” Gian Fulgoni, chairman of ComScore Networks, said in a statement.

“The online holiday shopping season of course played a vital role in the year’s success, as spending accelerated during the final two months of the year, helping push total online retail spending over the $100 billion threshold.”

News Source: http://money.cnn.com

04 Jan 2006

For the full year 2006, online retail spending (non-travel) reached $102.1 billion, a 24 percent increase from 2005, and online holiday (Nov. 1-Dec. 31) e-commerce accounted for $24.6 billion, up 26 percent from last year, according to comScore Networks.

“2006 was certainly an exceptional year for online retailers as e-commerce spending eclipsed $100 billion for the first time,” said Gian Fulgoni, chairman of comScore Networks. “The online holiday shopping season of course played a vital role in the year’s success.”

Twelve days during the two-month holiday season broke the $600 million mark for e-commerce spending. Just six days in 2005 reached $500 million in online sales, with the top day registering $556 million (Monday, December 12, 2005).

Wednesday, Dec. 13, marked the heaviest online spending day of 2006 with $667 million, followed by Monday, Dec. 11 ($661 million) and Monday, Dec. 4 ($648 million). Cyber Monday (Nov. 27) was surpassed 11 times during the subsequent weeks of the holiday season.

Online consumers delayed their holiday buying later than ever. Spending growth during the first third of the season (weeks 1-3) rose a modest 23 percent above 2005 levels, despite spending during the week before Thanksgiving, which grew 30 percent growth versus the corresponding week in 2005.

The middle third of the season (weeks 4-6), during which the greatest share of holiday e-commerce spending occurred, was consistent with the 26 percent growth demonstrated during the course of the season as a whole. The final three weeks of the holiday season (weeks 7-9) saw a major surge in spending as the procrastinators came out in full force, driving a 31 percent increase versus the corresponding weeks in 2005.

The week leading up to Christmas (week ended December 24) saw the biggest surge with a 45-percent increase versus the corresponding week a year ago, with consumers relying on online retailers’ ability to deliver the goods in time for Christmas.

http://www.marketingvox.com

2 Jan 2006

What to watch for in 2007….

* Online Ad Spending Will Hit $20 Billion
* Some Money and Lots of Hype for Online Video Advertising
* Social Networks Are Set for a $1 Billion Windfall
* Downloadable Games Will Get Hotter
* Thirty-Seven Million Strong: A ‘Minority’ Bigger than Canada
* Mobile TV Arrives
* US B2C E-Commerce Will Cruise Past $200 Billion
* The Retail Power of Word-of-Mouth
* Broadband Services Will Matter as Much as Speed
* DVRs Pump Up TV Viewing

Online Ad Spending
Total US spending on Internet advertising will reach at least $19.5 billion in 2007. This is 19% more than total spending in 2006. This rate of growth is sharply down from the 30% or more that has been the norm for several years. However, even this reduced level of year-on-year growth would be considered spectacular for most industries. With total US advertising spending projected to grow by a mere 1.4% in 2007, the shift to the Internet is clearly set to maintain its heady momentum in 2007.

Online Video Advertising
Internet video advertising will get more media play than dollars in 2007. eMarketer projects that spending on this format will total $775 million in 2007. To put this figure in perspective, remember that it represents only 4.0% of projected US online ad spending. Although marketers are increasingly keen on including video in their online ad campaigns, they will continue to face a shortage of appropriate premium placements.

Social Networks
Worldwide ad spending on online social networks should top $1 billion in 2007, up from an estimated $445 million this year. Fueling this growth will be factors such as international expansion, “niche” networks and Google’s deal to supply search technology to MySpace.

Video Game Downloads
Digital downloading of video games will take off in 2007, and by 2010 this distribution method will account for 22% of all worldwide game software revenues. Besides online stores pushing the new generation of games consoles, look for Time Warner’s GameTap service to position itself as the HBO of PC gaming, focusing on original content to drive its subscription service. Video-on-demand (VOD) marketers may find their skills in demand for promoting these platforms, which play on subscriber taste for instant gratification via download.

Hispanic and African-American Internet Users
The number of African-American and Hispanic Internet users in the US will rise to 37 million, from 35 million in 2006. This market will continue to grow faster than the total US online population for several more years, giving advertisers with the imagination to reach out to them fresh opportunities. (The population of Canada is 33 million.)

Mobile TV
Mobile TV took its first baby steps in 2006 with professional content. The World Cup offered a first glimpse of what the broadcasting future for mobile might look like, and in 2007 another crucial element will be added to the mobile-TV mix — user-generated content (CGC). Given the impact the Web equivalent of this development has had in 2006, advertisers and marketers are likely to face a dizzying array of new choices.

US B2C E-Commerce
US B2C online sales will comfortably pass the $200 billion mark in 2007, reaching a new record total, which eMarketer projects will be $223 billion. Online retail sales will account for $132 billion of this, with online travel accounting for $91 billion. Some of the impetus for this growth will come from existing online buyers increasing their spending. A significant force driving online travel sales is the demand from travel-loving and relatively affluent baby boomers.

Word-of-Mouth
The influence of consumer generated content (CGC) on US consumers’ purchase decisions will continue to grow in 2007. A recent study from market research firm Compete found that consumers were more likely to be swayed by CGC than by information coming directly from brand advertisers and marketers.

Broadband Services
When broadband emerged, it was distinguished from dial-up by its always-on nature and the greater bandwidth available to users. These characteristics were seen as reason enough to trade up from dial-up. Now, however, broadband is about value-added services and is driven by providers bundling voice, video and data together. Services such as voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) are approaching the 30% penetration range. eMarketer predicts that one in four broadband households in 2007 will subscribe to a VoIP service, rising to nearly 40% of broadband households by 2010.

DVRs and TV Viewing
The alarmist claims that digital video recorders (DVRs) and video-on-demand (VOD) would cause the death of TV and the loss of billions of dollars worth of advertising dollars are increasingly looking just plain wrong. TV distribution and access are changing and audiences are increasingly fragmented. However, every challenge presents an opportunity. More people will watch more TV and video content in the future, not less. They will just be doing so in different ways — via the TV, the Internet, the PC and their portable devices. eMarketer predicts that VOD will be in 30% of US TV households by the end of 2007 and that DVRs will be in 30% of TV households by 2009.

http://www.emarketer.com