According to new figures released by the United States Department of Commerce Online Shopping sales accounted for 2.4 percent of all sales in the fourth quarter of 2005, up from 2.3 percent the previous quarter, Total fourth quarter United States shopping revenues online came to a seasonally adjusted $22.94 billion. For all year 2005, United States online shopping sales rose by 24.6 percent according to information from the U.S. Census Stats.
Total United States Internet shopping sales, excluding Travel, exceeded $83 Billion in 2005, according to data published by ComScore. Apparel & Accessories ranked as the fastest growing category in 2005, with a 41-percent increase versus the previous year (2004). Other rapidly growing categories included Computer Software (up 37 percent), Toys & Hobbies (up 35 percent), Home & Garden (up 33 percent) and Jewelry & Watches (up 31 percent).
Customer Satisfaction with US Online Shopping Web Sites on the Rise.
U.S. customer satisfaction with shopping web sites has improved slightly from last year, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI).
E-commerce’s ACSI score experienced a 1.3 percent boost from Q4 2004’s 78.6, to Q4 2005’s 79.6. ForeSee Results uses the University of Michigan’s ACSI methodology, which includes site users’ likelihood of using a site again or recommending it to other users, to determine rankings based on a 100-point scale. The report segments e-commerce into four subcategories: e-retail, online auction, e-brokerage, and online travel companies.
The industry score for travel web sites improved one percent to 79, with Expedia coming in at 79, Travelocity 75 and Orbitz 74. A year ago, the big three were within a point of each other. But Expedia differentiated itself last year with new products such as cruises and packages from popular resorts, as per the information available.
In e-Retailing and Online Shopping, Amazon is tied with BarnesandNoble, both at 87 points. Amazon.com made up most of the ground it lost last year and has the highest score of any retailer or service provider in e-commerce. |
