US online sales defy economic uncertainty

The US online retail market looks solid as the busy holiday shopping season gets under way, although economic uncertainty remains, according to a study from comScore, PCWorld writes.

US retailers' online sales grew 13% in the third quarter, compared with the same quarter last year, marking the eighth consecutive quarter of year-on-year growth, comScore says.

A key factor in the market's growth was an increase of 22% in the number of buyers - 74% of all Internet users made at least one online purchase during the quarter, the company said.

“The third quarter of 2011 saw a continuation of the year's strength in US retail e-commerce spending, even in the face of renewed economic headwinds and uncertainty facing the US consumer,” TechJournal quotes chairman Gian Fulgoni as saying.

“As we approach the critical holiday shopping season, we are optimistic about the continued health of the e-commerce sector, despite other factors - including stubbornly high unemployment and volatile financial markets - currently weighing on the economy. More consumers than ever before are relying on the online channel for product and pricing information, which, along with the Internet's fundamental appeal of convenience and attractive pricing, are contributing to the sustained upward momentum in e-commerce spending.”

According to The Mac Observer, the strongest categories for online sales were digital content and subscriptions; event tickets; jewellery and watches; consumer electronics (excluding computer peripherals) and computer software.