Online Consumers Spent $18.5 Billion During 2003 Holiday Season, According To The Goldman Sachs, Harris Interactive and Nielsen/
January 05 2004 - 5:56PM
PR Newswire (US)
Online Consumers Spent $18.5 Billion During 2003 Holiday Season,
According To The Goldman Sachs, Harris Interactive and
Nielsen//Netratings Holiday Espending Report Online spending up 35
percent over 2002; top-five categories for the season include
apparel, toys and video games, consumer electronics, computer
hardware and peripherals and video/DVD ROCHESTER, N.Y., and NEW
YORK, Jan. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Online holiday shoppers spent a record
$18.5 billion online excluding travel during the 2003 holiday
season, according to the eSpending Report from Goldman, Sachs &
Co., Harris Interactive(R), and Nielsen//NetRatings. This
represents an increase of 35 percent over the $13.7 billion spent
in 2002. The eSpending Report found that the product categories for
apparel, toys/video games (hardware and software), consumer
electronics, computer hardware and peripherals and video/DVD,
generated the most revenue this season. Online shoppers spent $3.8
billion on apparel this season, a 40 percent increase from 2002
(see Table 1). Toys and video games (hardware and software) drew
$2.2 billion, jumping 33 percent from the previous year. Consumer
electronics were popular this season, with Internet shoppers
spending $2 billion, a rise of two percent year over year. The
computer hardware/peripherals category also attracted significant
attention from online shoppers with total revenue of $1.7 billion
in 2003. Video/DVD had a strong season with shoppers spending $1.6
billion, up 46 percent. Table 1. Popular Online Shopping Categories
Ranked by Total Revenue through December 26, 2003 Category 2003
Holiday Projected Online Revenue in Year-Over-Year Millions Growth
Apparel/Clothing $3,738 40% Toys/Video games $2,197 33% Consumer
Electronics $2,044 2% Computer Hardware/Peripherals $1,650 --*
Video/DVD $1,619 46% Source: Goldman Sachs, Harris Interactive and
Nielsen//NetRatings eSpending Report, December 2003 Number of
respondents = 9,517 online users * Year-over-year percent growth
unavailable for this category due to small sample size in 2002.
"Online retailers have enjoyed a fantastic season in 2003," said
Abha Bhagat, senior analyst Nielsen//NetRatings. "This is the third
straight season of record growth, which indicates retailers are
doing a much better job of appealing to customers through online
channels as well as successfully integrating various channels to
reach out to customers effectively." Online Spending and Customer
Satisfaction Rise in 2003 The final weekly eSpending Report showed
that shoppers were more satisfied with their online shopping
experience (See Table 2). During the 2003 shopping season, 63
percent of online shoppers were satisfied with their overall
shopping experience, a five-point increase from 2002. Seven percent
(7%) were dissatisfied, a one-point decrease from 2002. Shoppers
also reported very few serious problems when ordering online (see
Table 3) and spent more of their total shopping budget online this
season (see Table 4). Table 2. Overall Online Customer Satisfaction
Year-to-Year Satisfaction Level 2003 2002 2002 to 2003 Percentage
Points Change Satisfied 63.1% 59% +4.1 Dissatisfied 7.4% 8% -0.6
Source: Goldman Sachs, Harris Interactive and Nielsen//NetRatings
eSpending Report, December 2003 Questions asked: "For the entire
holiday shopping season, please rate your overall shopping
satisfaction so far." Total Number of respondents: 2002 - 9,008,
2003 - 9,517 Table 3. Serious Problems Reported by Shoppers Serious
Problem Reported Percentage of Respondents Reporting Order not
received when promised 2.4% Received incorrect or defective product
1.2% Total percentage of online shoppers experiencing serious
problems 3.6% Source: Goldman Sachs, Harris Interactive and
Nielsen//NetRatings eSpending Report, December 2003 Questions
asked: "In the past week, did you experience any of the following
problems with your online shopping?" Total Number of respondents:
2003 - 9,517 Table 4. Overall Online Customer Spending Year-to-Year
2003 2002 2002 to 2003 Percentage Points Change Percentage of
Holiday Budget Expected to be Spent Online 19.7% 16.3% +3.4 Source:
Goldman Sachs, Harris Interactive and Nielsen//NetRatings eSpending
Report, December 2003 Questions asked: "For the entire 2002/2003
holiday shopping season, what percent of your holiday gift budget
do you expect to spend in stores, catalogs and online?" Total
Number of respondents: 2002 - 9,008, 2003 - 9,517 "As more people
turn to the Internet to do their holiday shopping, they are finding
the online shopping experience to be a positive one." said Lori
Iventosch-James, director of ecommerce research, Harris
Interactive. "During the 2003 holiday season, online retailers have
gone the extra mile to meet customer expectations and that's
reflected in the higher level of satisfaction, the relatively small
number of serious problems reported and the increase in online
spending as a percentage of total holiday spending." The eSpending
Report by Goldman Sachs, Harris Interactive and Nielsen//NetRatings
is based on a weekly national survey of between 800 and 1,700
online shoppers randomly chosen from Harris Interactive's online
panel of survey respondents. The Holiday Season summary data is
based on more than 9,500 responses in November and December 2003.
The eSpending report offers weekly intelligence on online shopping
and spending by market segment and also tracks consumer attitudes
and motivations that drive online shopping. About Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs is a leading global investment banking, securities
and investment management firm that provides a wide range of
services worldwide to a substantial and diversified client base
that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and
high net worth individuals. Founded in 1869, it is one of the
oldest and largest investment banking firms. The firm is
headquartered in New York and maintains offices in London,
Frankfurt, Tokyo, Hong Kong and other major financial centers
around the world. About Harris Interactive(R) Harris Interactive
(http://www.harrisinteractive.com/) is a worldwide market research
and consulting firm best known for The Harris Poll(R), and for
pioneering the Internet method to conduct scientifically accurate
market research. Headquartered in Rochester, New York, U.S.A.,
Harris Interactive combines proprietary methodologies and
technology with expertise in predictive, custom and strategic
research. The Company conducts international research through
wholly owned subsidiaries-London-based HI Europe
(http://www.hieurope.com/) and Tokyo-based Harris Interactive
Japan-as well as through the Harris Interactive Global Network of
local market- and-opinion-research firms, and various U.S. offices.
EOE M/F/D/V To become a member of the Harris Poll OnlineSM and be
invited to participate in future online surveys, visit
http://www.harrispollonline.com/. About Nielsen//NetRatings
Nielsen//NetRatings is the global standard for Internet audience
measurement and analysis and is the industry's premier source for
online advertising intelligence with its NetView, AdRelevance,
@Plan, WebRF, LemonAd, MegaPanel and SiteCensus services. Covering
70 percent of the world's Internet usage, the Nielsen//NetRatings
services offer syndicated Internet and digital media research
reports and custom-tailored data to help companies gain valuable
insight into their business. For more information, please visit
http://www.nielsen-netratings.com/. Editor's Note: Please source
data to Goldman Sachs, Harris Interactive and Nielsen//NetRatings.
DATASOURCE: Goldman Sachs; Harris Interactive; Nielsen//NetRatings
CONTACT: Nancy Wong of Harris Interactive, +1-585-214-7316, or ; or
Ed Canaday of Goldman Sachs, +1-212-357-0005, or ; or Tim Wong of
Nielsen//NetRatings, +1-408-586-7525, or Web site:
http://www.harrisinteractive.com/ http://www.hieurope.com/
http://www.harrispollonline.com/ http://www.nielsen-netratings.com/
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