Not a Bad Year for Holiday Online Retail

This week, comScore revealed that for the full holiday online shopping season, $29.1 billion was spent online, marking a 4-percent increase versus the same period last year.

"The 2009 online holiday shopping season was a positive one as its growth rate slightly surpassed our forecast and returned to solidly positive rates after nearly a full year of marginally negative growth," said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni.

"Among the highlights of the season was the first $900 million online spending day and a strong late season spending surge, propelled by effective retailer promotions, guaranteed shipping and a major snowstorm on the eastern seaboard that convinced many to shop from the comfort of home," he continued. "It’s possible that this better-than-expected end-of-year performance is a harbinger of renewed vigor and optimism for 2010 as the consumer economy seeks to rebound from one of the worst years in memory. At the same time, we need to remember that consumers’ spending power remains constrained by high unemployment levels, substantial debt and a new-found desire to save."

Here are some numbers:

Among categories that saw increases in sales were jewelry and watches, consumer electronics, event tickets, computer hardware, and books and magazines. Jewelry and watches actually fell 29% last year, but jumped back up 20% this year.