US online retail spending rose by 9% to $32.1bn in the third quarter of 2010, compared to the same period a year ago, representing fourth consecutive quarter of positive year-over-year growth following a year of flat or negative growth rates, according to data released by comScore.
The report said that books and magazines (excluding digital downloads), computers/peripherals/PDAs, computer software (excluding PC games) and consumer electronics were the top-performing online product categories.
The top 25 online retailers accounted for 70% of dollars spent online, up 5.5 percentage points compared to the same period a year ago.
Online ‘pureplay’ retailers accounted for 58% of dollars spent online, compared to 42% among multichannel retailers.
comScore said that 41% of online retail transactions included free shipping, down marginally from last year.
comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni said retail e-commerce growth in the third quarter remained solid at 9%, a fairly positive indicator for the upcoming holiday season.
"However, we continue to preach caution due to the continuation of high unemployment, which is creating very divergent spending patterns between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’," Fulgoni said.
