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/

Copyright