Thursday, February 12, 2009

E-Commerce Sales Drop in 2008, Says Report

A new report released Thursday morning from ComScore finds that retail e-commerce sales dropped in Q4 by 3 percent, as the economy began to affect the online retail sector. According to the report, the fourth quarter of 2008 was the first quarter of negative growth since comScore started tracking ecommerce spending in 2001. Among the biggest categories with drops in ecommerce sales were music, movies and videos, which saw a 23% drop in sales year to year, and computer software, with a 18% drop in spending. Among the segments which saw an increase in sales were video games, consoles, and accessories, which saw increases of 29% year to year in sales; homes, garden, and furniture, with 25%; and sports and fitness also at 25%.