Christmas 2005 Online Sales.
According to the final Holiday eSpending Report for 2005, online shoppers spent the most holiday dollars on apparel/clothing during the 2005 holiday season, totaling $5.3 billion; the category enjoyed 42 percent growth from last year's online revenue (see Table 1). Computer hardware/peripherals ranked second in category spending with a total of $4.8 billion, showing a 126 percent year-over-year growth in online revenue, the strongest growth this season.
Consumer electronics, the second fastest growing category, garnered $4.8 billion in online spending, jumping 109 percent year-over-year. Books and toys/video games rounded out the top five product categories, garnering $3.0 and $2.3 billion in online revenue, respectively. The Books category jumped 66 percent in revenue from last year, compared to toys/video games, which fell nine percent from the 2004 holiday season.
Online buyers credited faster and more reliable deliveries throughout the year, free shipping, and better navigation on sites as the major improvements this year. The two week transportation strike in New York city had minimal effects for online sales records. Mall sales were down 10% for the holiday season from 2004 totals.
