Holiday Web Spending to Rise 16%, ComScore Projects

Online holiday spending will rise 16% to more than $61 billion this season, reflecting stronger economic optimism among consumers, market researcher ComScore projected. E-commerce spending in November and December on desktop personal computers will reach $53.2 billion, a 14% gain from a year earlier, ComScore said yesterday in a statement. That's 4 percentage points higher than last season's 10% growth. Mobile shopping is forecast to jump 25% to $7.87 billion, accounting for 13% of total holiday e-commerce. ComScore wasn't tracking mobile commerce on a monthly basis last year so there's no direct comparison between this year's projected growth and last year's, but it was running quarterly numbers. Mobile spending in the fourth quarter of 2013 had a year-over-year growth rate of 16%. The spending gains are being fueled by improved consumer sentiment, with the stock market near record highs and mild inflation, according to ComScore. An extra shopping day between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year is also benefiting retailers, said Adam Lella, an analyst at ComScore. "We are seeing healthy growth," Mr. Lella said. "We expect mobile to grow at a faster rate going forward, but it won't be split even, since it's just an easier experience to shop on the desktop." ~ Bloomberg News ~

Holiday Web Spending to Rise 16%, ComScore Projects

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