Internet researcher comScore said consumers spent more shopping online in the first 22 days of the holiday season than they did during the same period last year.
But even though they are expected to spend more this season than during last year’s downtrodden holiday season, consumers are likely to keep their online spending tempered, the group said.
You will not be shocked to learn that online holiday spending is not off to a good start.
ComScore today reports that for the first 23 days of November, e-commerce spending–excluding travel, auctions and large corporate purchases–was down four percent from the same period last year. 2007 saw a 19 percent rise in spending–all predictions point to this year being flat. It’s going to be a long winter.
Call it the Great E-pression. Online spending growth in October fell to its lowest rate in seven years, and given the tenor of economic news these days, it’s almost certainly headed lower still. According to research outfit comScore, online spending grew by just one percent over October 2007.