The 2005 results are in, and not surprisingly, eBay received more visits during the 2005 holiday season (Nov 1-Dec 31) than any other online retail site. Also in the top ten were Amazon, Wal-Mart, Apple Computers, Target, Dell, Toys R Us, Overstock.com, Best Buy and Circuit City.

Thanks to a last minute shopping spike, ComScore Network's prediction for online sales during the 2005 holiday period was met and exceeded by 1percent (a 25 percent increase over 2004). Throughout the entire year, online retail spending has increased by 24 percent.

While these numbers are encouraging and, as ComScore chairman Gian Fulgoni stated, "This was clearly another strong year for e-commerce," it should be noted that these percentage increases fall short of the 2003-2004 rate.

Online spending during the 2004 holiday season had increased 29 percent over the same period in 2003, and 26 percent throughout the entire year. So, although the 2005 holiday season exceeded the predictions, growth rate was 4 percent lower than the increase from 2003 to 2004.

	2003	2004	% change 2003-2004	2005	% change 2004-2005
Holiday Season (Nov 1-Dec 31)	$12.3	$15.7	29%	$19.6	25%
Full Year	$52.9	$66.5	26%	$82.3	24%

(Source: ComScore Networks end of year reports for 2004 and 2005)

It should be noted that none of these figures include auction sales. (eBay is set to release sales figures for Quarter 4 2005 on January 18, 2006.) Also, gift card sales are up 15-20 percent this year and those sales do not count until redeemed. It remains to be seen how this will impact the January sales figures.

Visa USA's SpendTrak reports ecommerce transactions totaling $26,518 million during the 2005 holiday period. Their highest volume day was December 1st with $624 million in online transactions.

The proportion of online holiday spending, verses catalog or in-store spending, has increased significantly over the last few years, according to the Goldman, Sachs, Nielsen/Netratings and Harris Interactive eSpending Report for December 2005. Since 2002, in-store sales have decreased by 10 percent, catalog shopping has reduced by 1 percent and online spending has increased by 11 percent. The 2004 to 2005 jump for online sales (5 percent) is the largest jump in the last 4 years.

	2002	2003	2004	2005	2002 vs. 2005
In-Store	78%	74%	72%	68%	- 10%
Catalog	6%	6%	6%	5%	- 1%
Online	16%	20%	22%	27%	+ 10%

(Source: Goldman, Sachs, Nielsen/Netratings and Harris Interactive eSpending Report, December 2005)

The same report shows that consumer satisfaction is up with the "very satisfied" response increasing 3 percent over 2004 and a 1 percent decrease in each of the dissatisfied responses.

It may interest eBay sellers to see how other online retailers faired in each category over the course of 2005. The following table shows the categories with the highest increase in sales from 2004 according to ComScore Networks.

Retail Category	2005 increase over 2004
Apparel & Accessories	36%
Computer Software (excludes PC games)	36%
Home & Garden	32%
Toys & Hobbies	32%
Jewelry & Watches	27%
Event Tickets	26%
Furniture	24%
Flowers, Greetings & Gifts	23%

According to a ReutersUK article, CitiGroup conducted a subjective study of 44 retail websites (purchasing 59 products) on December 12, 2005 to determine which was the best website overall. Their criteria included:

• Ease of navigation
  - Visual appeal
  - Ease of checkout
  - Merchandise assortment
  - Delivery
  - Return options
  - Price
  

Amazon came in at number one, but mention was also made of eBay. "eBay's user interface may not have been best-in-class, but its vast product selection clearly stands out."

So what do we see for 2006? Well, to start with, an increase in eBay listings is likely in the next few weeks since many department store retailers have become more strict about return policies.

From refusing open-box returns, to 15-25 percent restocking fees, unrealistic return deadlines and even complete refusal of specific item returns, department stores across the board seem to be tightening up. We can expect to see more of these items on eBay (particularly in the electronics categories) as consumers realize they cannot get the full value back from retailers.

This is unwanted competition for many established eBay sellers because these gift sellers do not have overheads, or even initial purchase costs to consider. Their return will be 100 percent profit, so they can afford to undercut other eBay sellers who are trying to run a business selling these same products.

But there is good news (and, no, it doesn't involve car insurance). Most savvy buyers are wary of purchasing from low feedback sellers, particularly for high-priced electronics. It appears that your feedback, and general professionalism are still more important to most buyers. Also, many of these people will likely turn to Trading Assistants to sell their items, so make sure your profile is updated.

Lissa McGrath is a full-time freelance writer and the author of 20 Questions To Ask Before Selling On eBay (Career Press, 2006). She is also the copy editor of 6 other eBay related books. Lissa can be reached at lissa@lissamcgrath.com or through her website http://www.lissamcgrath.com.