After the record-breaking holiday sales season of 2005, online retailers have hardly had time to restock their cyber-shelves.
New figures from comScore Networks indicate that that online non-travel spending is up one-third for the first three weeks in January 2006 compared with the same period in 2005.
Online non-travel spending from January 1st to the 20th 2006 totaled $5.5 billion, representing a 33% increase over the $4.1 billion posted during the corresponding period in 2005. Online travel spending generated an additional $3.5 billion during the same time, up 8%.
The fast start in 2006 follows a year of solid gains in online consumer spending. According to comScore figures, online spending for all of 2005, including travel, reached $143.2 billion, up 22% over 2004.
As Gian Fulgoni, chairman of comScore Networks, said, "It's clear based on what we're seeing so far in 2006 that the strength in online sales will not wane anytime soon."
Analyzing sales in selected product categories reveals that Event Tickets was one of the fastest growing categories in January, surging 50% above last year's figures to $193.3 million. Consumer Electronics were also up strongly, with sales for the first three weeks of January rising 43% above corresponding days last year to $271.5 million.
As the traditional post-holiday battle of the bulge kicked in, sales in the Sports & Fitness category were also up, reaching $72.6 million online.
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