Christmas 2009 e-commerce stats round up

Now it's a few weeks after Christmas, a few more stats on sales figures over the festive period have been released by various retailers and research firms. 

Predictions for e-commerce sales were generally rosy in the run up to Christmas, and this seems to have been the case so far... 

Online sales (UK)

• According to the British Retail Consortium, non-food non-store sales (online, phone and mail order sales )were 26.5% higher than a year ago, compared with a 16.9% rise in November.

Online sales (US)

• According to comScore, $29.1bn was spent online in November and December, 4% more than the 2008 holiday season. The fastest growing e-commerce categories were jewellery and watches, and consumer electronics.

Mobile shopping

• According to a Motorola study 51% of shoppers overall and 64% from the 18 to 34 age group used their mobile phones for in-store shopping-related activities during the holiday season. This included comparing prices, finding user reviews, and making a purchase via mobile.

Retailers' online sales figures

• Tesco saw online sales in both food and non-food grow by nearly 20% in the six weeks to January 9 2010, according to its Christmas trading statement.Over 100m grocery items were delivered to almost 1.5m customers in the run up to Christmas, while Tesco Direct had sales growth of over 50% with a strong performance in toys, TVs, games and entertainment (including digital downloads).
   
• House of Fraser reported that online sales were up 91% on last Christmas, thanks to the increase in the number of brands offered online. Cosmetics, knitwear and boots were the most popular purchases.
• Hmv.com experienced 'double-digit sales growth' over Christmas.
• Mothercare's Direct in Home sales, which include its online operations, experienced a 19.5% increase in the 13 weeks to January 8, according to the company's trading statement.
• DSGI reported growth in e-commerce sales of 15% in the 12 weeks to January 9.