SpendingPulse: Holiday 2010 e-commerce up in double digits

PURCHASE, N.Y. — MasterCard Advisors’ SpendingPulse, a macroeconomic report tracking national retail and services sales, announced results for e-commerce sales for the 2010 holiday shopping season. During the period ranging from Oct. 31 to Dec. 24, consumers spent $36.4 billion online, a 15.4% increase compared with the same period in 2009, according to SpendingPulse estimates.



“Today, e-commerce accounts for a much larger share of overall retail sales compared to a few years ago. And during this holiday season, it registered double-digit growth for 6-out-of-7 weeks,” noted Michael McNamara, VP MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse.  “In terms of subcategories, apparel was the clear leader, helping increase the channel’s overall lift. In terms of share, online apparel sales during the holiday season accounted for 18.8% of total sales in that category, compared to16.9% in 2009. As for some of the other subsectors, online electronics, not surprisingly, also recorded significant gains, while jewelry, although still in positive territory, lagged behind,” McNamara said.



The company noted that the 2010 holiday season included six days that surpassed $1 billion in sales compared with just three days in 2009. Top sales days included Tuesday, Nov. 30 ($1.16 billion), and Wednesday, Dec. 1 ($1.13 billion). In addition, Cyber Monday, the first day back to work after Thanksgiving, generated $999.3 million in sales this year, a 25.3% increase compared with the same day in 2009.