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Online Holiday Shopping to Hit All-Time High, Predicts eMarketer

eMarketer forecasts Q4 online sales to reach $26.2 billion, up 21.9% over last year

September 28, 2005 -- NEW YORK, NY The online holiday shopping season is set for record gains this year. According to the Online Holiday Shopping Preview, released today by eMarketer, online retail sales for the fourth quarter will be $26.2 billion, up 21.9% over last yearwith much of the gain coming as shoppers continue to migrate online from offline stores.
Jeffrey Grau, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the report, is confident that this holiday season will be a positive one for online retailers, despite high oil prices, a negative personal saving rate, declining consumer confidence and the uncertain long-term impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Holiday In Wales "We expect to see strong sales gains this year, driven largely by shoppers shifting their purchases online," says Mr. Grau. "Several factors are behind this growtha longer shopping season on the Internet; improved order fulfillment, which allows shoppers to make purchases nearly until Christmas; and intense competition among online retailers, which leads to aggressive promotions, all benefiting the deal-seeking consumer."

With 34 per cent planning to shop online, compared to 31 per cent hitting town centre stores and 22 per cent heading for big shopping centres, seekers.

Holiday Wales Retailers are finding that the online holiday shopping season begins earlier than the traditional offline holiday season. The Online Holiday Shopping Preview cites LaGarde, a provider of e-business technology solutions, who surveyed e-retailers in July 2005 and reported that over 25% of respondents believed online shopping would start in August or September and over 60% stated they believed the season would start before November 1st. It seems that the convenience of shopping online, coupled with improved delivery services, is actually extending the holiday season to the full fourth quarter of the calendar year.

As expected, purchase items for online Christmas shoppers are likely to be gifts, followed by holiday travel arrangements. Interestingly, 70% of respondents said that they can be easily distracted while Christmas shopping on the high street and frequently end up buying items for themselves as well. Encouragingly for online advertisers, 16% of respondents felt that they would be even more likely to shop around and treat themselves as well when shopping online, reinforcing the notion that internet users are increasingly receptive and responsive to online advertising.

Cottage Holiday In Wales The report also cites data from the 2004 eSpending Report, jointly produced by Goldman Sachs, Nielsen//NetRatings and Harris Interactive, which shows that consumers have moved a portion of their gift spending to Web sites from stores in recent years. In 2004, holiday shoppers spent 22% of their gift budget online, compared to 16% in 2002. At the same time, consumers decreased the amount spent in physical stores to 72% in 2004 from 78% in 2002. eMarketer expects this trend toward online holiday shopping to continue.

But like Ms. Rubin, Mr. Cassar said the early online shopping surge should not be taken as an indication that the holiday season will necessarily exceed earlier sales forecasts. Jupiter is sticking by its previous forecast of $13.1 billion in online holiday sales this year, a 17 percent rise from last year. That would be slower growth than in the 2001 holiday season, when online sales were 29 percent higher than those a year earlier, according to Jupiter.

Caravan Holiday In Wales "The Internet is ideally suited for the holiday gift-buying season," says Mr. Grau. "It offers a convenient and comfortable way to find good values and a wide product assortment without having to negotiate crowded malls or wait in long post office lines. Wild cards like high gasoline prices and bad weather may even spur shoppers to do more of their holiday buying over the Internet."

A melting point of capitalism and culture, Malaysia is an exemplary example of a meeting between East and West. Shopping, high technology and innovation can be found in the bustling cities. For relaxation, head to the coast, for adventure visit the dense jungles and see some of the countries untouched wilderness. With such variety, Malaysia is a hit with all its visitors. If you are planning a trip here, then be sure to read our travel to Malaysia guide.

Camping Holiday Wales EMarketer's Online Holiday Shopping Preview report answers key questions:
How will online holiday spending this year match up against prior years?
How has online holiday shopping evolved?
What online retail categories will grow fastest this year?
How early will the season start this yearand how late will it go?
What challenges do e-retailers face in using personalization techniques?
And many more...

According to the National Retail federation, 47% of Holiday consumers shopped online last year and about 61 million people shopped online from work for holiday gifts.

Accommodation Holiday Wales For more information on eMarketer's Online Holiday Shopping Preview report, visit eMarketer.

Holiday Last Minute Wales About eMarketer

Catering Holiday Self Wales EMarketer is "the First Place to Look" for market research information related to e-business, online marketing and emerging technologies. eMarketer aggregates and analyzes e-business research from over 1,700 sources and brings it together in one place. This research is presented in analyst reports and the "eStat Database" the most comprehensive compilation of up-to-date e-business and online marketing statistics in the world. For more information, visit eMarketer at http://www.emarketer.com/.

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