Skip to main content

Online commerce rang up $43 billion in fourth quarter

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Anyone who thinks e-commerce isn’t a major force in the economy just isn’t thinking clearly, at least according to market analysis firm comScore. According to the company’s sales estimates for the fourth quarter of 2010—which includes the all-important end-of-year holidays—online purchases totaled up to some $43 billion in the United States alone. The number represents an 11 percent increase compared to the fourth quarter of 2009.

“Holiday season spending was bolstered by an improving sentiment among some consumer segments and by retailers’ discounting and promotions,” said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni, in a statement. “The 2010 holiday season saw the first billion-dollar day on record and several more surpassing $900 million to help propel Q4 to record spending levels.”

Recommended Videos

That billion-dollar day was November 29, “Cyber Monday,” according to comScore.

Perhaps the most interested statistic to come out of comScore’s analysis is that some 84 percent of U.S. Internet users conducted an online transaction during the fourth quarter of 2010, compared to 78 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009. Although the average amount spent online per consumer remained about the same year to year, the record number of online buyers propelled the sector towards a banner quarter.

As one might expect, computer software and consumer electronics were top-performing product categories for e-commerce during the quarter, but books and magazines (not including digital downloads!) also did well, along with computer peripherals, and holiday-appropriate toys, games, and hobby items. Each of these segments saw year-on-year growth rates over 15 percent.

ComScore anticipates the online retail sector will be able to sustain double-digit growth rates throughout 2011.

The largest year-on-year contraction in the online retail market comScore has recorded was in the fourth quarter of 2008, which saw a three percent decline in online purchases compared to the previous year. The biggest jump since comScore started keeping track in 2006 cam in the second and third quarters of 2007, which were each up 23 percent compared to the previous year.

Geoff Duncan
Former Contributor
Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…
The robot takeover comes another step closer — at Amazon
An Amazon robot working inside one of the company's warehouses.

Amazon is close to having more robots operating inside its warehouses than humans after the e-commerce giant announced this week that it now has more than a million robots working at its facilities around the world.

Over the years, Amazon has spent billions of dollars on the development and deployment of warehouse-based robots, which handle an array of tasks once performed by human workers.

Read more
This Lenovo ThinkPad laptop is over $1,400 off — hurry while stocks last!
The Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 Intel laptop on a white background.

Now's an excellent time to take advantage of laptop deals from Lenovo, which has slashed the prices of a wide range of devices for its Black Friday in July sale. Lenovo's ThinkPad laptops are up to 45% off, and here's one of the most interesting offers available with such a discount — the Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 at $1,440 off its estimated value of $3,199, so you'll only have to pay $1,759. That's an excellent price for this fantastic productivity tool, but you're going to have to push forward with your purchase as soon as possible because stocks may run out at any moment.

BUY NOW

Read more
Early Prime Day deal: Samsung’s 27-inch Odyssey G3 at its annual low price
Samsung Odyssey G3 gaming monitor on desk with keyboard and headset.

If you're ready to upgrade your monitor, this Samsung deal over at Amazon just might be your best bet. The 27-inch version of Samsung's Odyssey G3 is $130 right now, a full $100 off its regular $230 price and its lowest price of the year. It's a part of early Prime Day deals and a good sampling of what we can expect for the shopping holiday, which officially lands on July 8th. Tap the button below to see it for yourself or keep reading to see why we like this deal and why this should be your next monitor.

Buy Now

Read more