by Christina Lee on January 23rd, 2009
Over 1 billion people from around the world now use the Internet, according to a study released today by comScore.
The study comes after the online research firm found that more than 824 million people used the Internet in March 2008.
The United States only ranked second to China in representing the largest Internet audience of the world. With more than 163 million people online, the United States represents 17.8 percent of the total global Internet audience, after making up for 21 percent in March.
The number of Internet users in the Asia Pacific region continues to grow rapidly, as... Read more »
by Christina Lee on December 23rd, 2008
Reports of this year’s pre-Christmas retail environment showed that, despite deep discounts and high hopes, consumers did not shop as much as they did last year.
Retail sales are expected to fall by 8 percent in December through Christmas Eve, after falling 5.5 percent last month, according to MasterCard’s SpendingPulse report. Both declines, with the economy and weather in mind, added up to “one of the most challenging holiday shopping seasons in decades,” said Michael McNamara, vice-president of research and analysis.
With the average price per gallon down by almost 50 percent compared to last year, gasoline sales also dragged... Read more »
by Christina Lee on December 22nd, 2008
Recent consumer behavior studies revealed that last-minute shoppers may impact holiday season sales more than ever this year.
As of Dec. 16, while the average consumer completed 47.1 percent of their shopping – down 52.6 percent from last year – over 41 million people had not even started, according to the National Retail Federation.
Most of these consumers will be looking for apparel, while 40.8 percent will shop for books, CDs, movies and video games. They ranked discounter, department and specialty stores as their three most popular shopping destinations for the rest of their holiday shopping.
Last-minute shoppers are also... Read more »
by Christina Lee on December 2nd, 2008
Though more shoppers sought out post-Thanksgiving discounts this year, sales figures released so far provide little hope for high profits for the remainder of the holiday season.
Traditionally at brick-and-mortar stores on Black Friday, and more recently at online stores on the following Cyber Monday, consumers have learned to eagerly pursue some of the lowest markdowns they will see over the holiday season. But with this year’s price cuts and overall consumer behavior, experts still wonder if retailers have been able to reap any profits this holiday season.
Consumer spending over the Black Friday weekend – running Thursday through Sunday... Read more »
by Christina Lee on November 14th, 2008
Though the Internet will remain a popular destination for shoppers this holiday season, fewer retailers expect their sales to increase significantly, according to a recent survey.
The National Retail Federation found that the number of consumers shopping online – 44.2 percent – has remained almost flat since last year. In the meantime however, compared to 77.5 percent of retailers last year, only 56.1 percent of them expect holiday sales to increase by at least 15 percent.
In addition, the Internet will continue to influence an increasing number of holiday purchases – at least 33.6 percent this year, compared to 30.2... Read more »