Internetretailer.com featured an article yesterday outlining the strong growth in the e-commerce industry.  This included findings from a recent recent study by IBISWorld, which shows revenue for e-commerce and online auction sites having increased at a cumulative rate of 468.9% since 2000, making it America’s third-fastest growing industry trailing only voice-over Internet protocol and search engines. Additionally, IBISWorld forecasts e-commerce to continue growing at a pace of abvout 125% over the next decade. To IBISWorld, the best performing industries will be those that focus on developing innovative products while improving efficiency and keeping prices competitive.

A full list of the best and worst performing industries can be found here.

via InternetRetailer.

A recent Reuters article noted a modest rise in holiday shopping this year, following a rather dismal 2008 season. In particular, writers Phil Wahba and Jessica Wohl highlighted the results of  recent study by SpendingPulse, which tracks activity in the MasterCard Inc payment networks.

Overall, the results showed an increase of 3.6 percent for retail sales over last year for the period November 1 to December 24. Last year, SpendingPulse recorded a decrease in spending at about 2.3 percent. But, while spending was up this year from 2008, Kamalesh Rao, director of economic research at Spending Pulse, says that levels are still far below those of 2007:

“Last year the economy and consumer spending were in free fall. This year we’re talking about an environment that has stabilized. That has seen a leveling off.”

Essentially, experts are saying that, while retailers aren’t overly optimistic, they seem less concerned than they previously were. Marshal Cohen, NPD Group chief retail analyst, described the overall sentiments of this shopping season in one word: “adequate.”

Additionally, according to Wedbush, which observed store traffic in four different markets this year, mall traffic increased considerably over last weekend as last minute shoppers scrambled to get their needed items. December 26 saw shoppers buying more items than they were returning, many purchases of which were at full-price. While this might be a positive sign, it remains difficult to say what the holiday season has actually meant for retailers’ bottom line.

One standout from the recent holiday shopping season, is online shopping, which grew by a reported 15% this year, according to SpendingPulse.  Presumably, consumers are becoming increasingly comfortable with purchasing online. To showcase a few online sectors;: luxury sales rose 0.8 percent; jewelry sales spiked 5.6 percent; and, mens apparel sales improved by 3.9 percent.

Via  Phil Wahba and Jessica Wohl @ Reuters

Toys rank among the most popular gifts each holiday season, often with a shortage of the most sought-after toys inducing a frenzy among shoppers. Interestingly, shopping for toys this season appears to be greater, while overall spending has dipped. The following illustrates current shopping trends, including how consumers and retailers are responding to the economy, as well as  the hot toys and toy categories. The overall trends indicate that deals are driving sales.

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Apparel perennially ranks among the most popular categories for holiday shopping, and this year, nothing has changed. While apparel shopping has dipped since the onset of the recession, recent studies suggest a continued recovery. As usual, searches for women’s apparel and accessories are among the most popular. Perhaps surprisingly, the high-end market appears to be increasingly improving; across the board, however, consumers are looking for the best deals possible.

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Moneycontrol.com posted an article today revealing the results of survey conducted by American Express, showing that two-thirds of consumers in the US still have some holiday shopping to complete, with 41 percent planning on finishing at least one week prior to Christmas. Additionally, one-fourth of all US consumers will still be shopping in the week before Christmas, including on Christmas Eve.

Many people are waiting longer to do their shopping, as they believe “…that deals will get sweeter as the clock winds down,” said Mona Hamouly, a spokeswoman for the survey. In fact 62 percent of consumers are waiting until the last minute to finish their holiday shopping. But there must be a reason why shoppers will tolerate the added stress of last minute shopping. The report says that 31 percent are waiting n order to find the hottest deals before the season is over; 21 percent are still saving money or are busy, and a mere 10 percent are waiting for their last paycheck.

In terms of spending, in the next 30 days,  65 percent of shoppers plan to spend the same or more than they did over the past 30 days, while one-third plan to spend less according to the same survey. Apparently, the negative economic climate has been a substantial factor in consumer sentiment as many are pinching all their pennies this year. Of those that plan on spending more in the next 30 days, 56 percent say most of their spending will be directed to holiday gifts. Of those that plan to spend less, 40 percent say it’s because they are trying to save money, prices have increased, or they are sticking to a strict budget, while one-third say they are trying to reduce their debt.

Via Money Control

According to comScore, online revenue since early November is up 3% compared to the same time last year. But, Andrew LaVallee, at the Wall Street Digits blog says that all eyes are on Green Monday, December 14^th, slated to be the largest online shopping day of the year.

This year’s Cyber Monday drew $887 million of consumers’ dollars while sales for the next day were a mere $1 million less. Only thirteen days in history have topped $800 million in online sales, with four of the top 10 having having occurred in 2009, said comScore. But analysts are hopeful that as consumers scramble to get their holiday shopping done; Green Monday is expected to surpass the $900 million benchmark, a sum yet to be reached in one online shopping day.

After a promising Black Friday start, Lazard Capital Markets believes that growth rates will remain positive until the end of the holiday season as spending continues to be strong. It seems as if retailers are successfully scaling up traffic by significantly slashing prices in order to entice consumers.

Via Andrew LaVallee @ The Wall Street Journal

Consumer electronics are big this year, as indicated by our second installment of the Active Shopper Report. According to a number of sources, including Pricegrabber.com, consumer electronics dominate product searches on price comparison websites and are among the most popular gifts this holiday season. The following visual illustrates the popularity of consumer electronics, as well as the individual items shoppers are looking to buy (and receive) this year. The overall trend suggests that reduced prices is the common denominator. For shoppers looking to save, this is as good of a time as ever to buy.

(click image to enlarge)

Internet Retailer posted an article on Tuesday discussing what has become Cyber Monday II or Second Chance Monday by various e-tailers. The reason for this recent distinction is that many sites, on December 7th, offered sales virtually identifcal to those on Cyber Monday. But not only could a number of deals be found around the internet on the second Cyber Monday, but for many retailers the additional promotion have worked.

But, why would shoppers spend money on the same offers that were promoted just one week earlier? According to Diana Slyampak of internet retailer, ChooseDirect.com, “…people were biding their time and waiting to see if there would be a better deal.” She continues, “I guess they figured they missed out on it Cyber Monday, came back and saw we had the same sale going and just jumped on it.”

According to Chad White, research director at e-mail marketing service provider Responsys, this Cyber Monday II tactic isn’t completely a new idea. In fact, last year, a numerous retailers began repeat promotions of Cyber Monday sales the following Monday, just as others do the same with Black Friday by offering the same deals every Friday from the day after Thanksgiving until Christmas. “Cyber Monday has been highly successful the past couple of years so retailers are looking to leverage the Cyber Monday brand to boost sales on other day,” White says.

via InternetRetailer

According to a recent study by Bloomberg, U.S. retail sales rose for the 13^th straight week in early December as deep discounts and holiday promotions encouraged consumers to spend.

Stores which have been open for at least a year witnessed a 2.6 percent increase in sales from a year ago, said the International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., in a recent statement. However, speculation remains that consumers are waiting to make their purchases, possibly causing “…a last-minute surge in holiday-gift searching in the final days ahead of Christmas,” said Michael Niemira, chief economist of ICSC.

With the national unemployment rate reaching a 26-year high of 10.2 percent this October, retailers are hopeful that an slightly improving labor market will spur consumers to spend in the last month of the holiday shopping season. Traditionally, this period accounts for one-third of annual revenue. According to Neimira, total sales could show a slightly better increase (2%) percent this December, than the one-percent improvement predicted a year ago. With consumer spending making up more than two-thirds of the U.S. economy, comparable-store sales will be considered the strongest measure of results.

via  Inyoung Hwang @ Bloomberg

Today announced the launch of its “Active Shopper Report” (http://activeshopperreport.com) revealing key retail trends for the 2009 holiday shopping season. Today’s report is the first in a four-part series and features the top 20 products trending this holiday season from leading shopping comparison sites PriceGrabber.com^® and Like.com.

2009 Holiday Shopping Trends Vol. 1

Though most consumers plan to cut back on holiday spending in 2009, many are opting to do their shopping online this year. Search interest in Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions have spiked after Thanksgiving, as shoppers all across the country look online for a more convenient solution to avoid holiday crowds. The 20 most popular categories are heavily weighted towards consumer electronics, which look to be strong sellers this year.