E-Commerce vs. Brick and Mortar

A Look at the 2001 Holiday Shopping Season

The day after Thanksgiving, also known as "Black Friday", is the day when most people begin their holiday shopping. Usually people crowd the malls in search of the perfect present for everyone on their holiday shopping list. But this year, more and more people decided to shop on line than ever before.

An Accenture study found that 11 percent of shoppers said that the Internet would be their first choice for holiday shopping, while 83 percent still prefer shopping in physical stores.

But according to the BizRate.com, the comparison shopping site and leading provider of real-time e-commerce research, the 2001 Holiday season reached an industry high of $6.6 billion, up 36% from last year's holiday season.

"E-commerce has out-performed expectations this year. Given the economic and political challenges of late, this resiliency proves that online shopping is more convenient for consumers. With special offers and shipping deals prominently featured online, shoppers found it easier to comparison shop site to site versus mall to mall,'" said Chuck Davis President and CEO of BizRate.com.

Not only did the number of online shoppers increase this year, the amount they spent also increased. Average order amounts increased by 13 percent to $126.77 compared to last years average order of $112.13. Electronics sales skyrocketed 102 percent from last year and toys and games sales were up 69 percent. Computer hardware sales shot up 53 percent and the flowers and gifts category brought in $1.3 billion of total Holiday sales up 37 percent from last year.

Among all consumers, clothing was the most sought after holiday gift. More than 76 percent of shoppers said they plan to purchase clothing from a physical store, 45 percent plan to buy clothing from a catalog and 21 percent will use the internet to buy clothing.

Overall, the Internet is becoming tool that consumers use when doing their holiday shopping. E-commerce sales were up this year and will most likely continue the upward trend in the years to come.