Preliminary results reveal that online spending grew 15 percent year-over-year, with consumers reporting that 13 percent of their holiday shopping budget was spent online. By comparison, during the 2000 holiday season, Americans spent more than $12 billion online, based on eCommercePulse, a monthly survey of 36,000 Internet users by Harris Interactive and Nielsen//NetRatings. Online spending in December 2001 increased 41 percent as compared to November 2001.

"Online holiday spending continued its growth, despite pressures from the slowing U.S. economy. However, the 15 percent increase is more modest than the higher gains experienced in seasons past," said Lori Iventosch-James, director of ecommerce research at Harris Interactive.

Holiday spending during the last two weeks in November and the first two weeks in December comprised 65 percent of the season’s total, marking more than $9 billion in revenue (see Table 1). Spending peaked during the first week of December, as more than one in five Internet users, or 20 percent, made a purchase online.

"Unlike traditional retailers who have the luxury of time and are able to sell to shoppers till the very last minute, ecommerce sites must move their products within a much shorter shopping season," added Iventosch-James. "The steady stream of special sales and free shipping offers during the peak online shopping weeks attracted consumers and helped etailers achieve higher revenue growth."

Overall customer satisfaction rose during the holiday season, as 86 percent of online shoppers surveyed cited that they were satisfied with their experience. Of those surveyed, 24 percent said that they had a better experience shopping on the Web this season compared to last year.

"While 1999 was nearly a disaster for customer service online, most major problems had been addressed in 2000. With 15 percent spending growth this year, etailers were well prepared and able to deliver a consistent or even improved level of service in 2001," said Sean Kaldor, vice president of analytical services, NetRatings. "The future of etailing will depend heavily upon how well merchants are able to maintain this consistent satisfaction level despite varying levels of spending growth and in the face of increasing demands for profit."

The eSpending Report by Goldman Sachs, Harris Interactive and Nielsen//NetRatings is based upon a weekly national survey of 500 online shoppers randomly chosen from Harris Interactive's multimillion- member panel of Internet users. The survey data is weighted to represent the online population and has an overall precision of +/- 4.4 percent, which varies by question. The eSpending report offers weekly intelligence on online shopping and spending by market segment and tracks consumer attitudes and motivations that drive online shopping.

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