ComScore reported on ecommerce spending for the first 49 days of the November - December 2008 holiday season. For the holiday season through December 19, $24.03 billion has been spent online, down 1 percent versus the corresponding days last year. The most recent week of the season has seen several strong online spending days, including Monday, December 15 with $859 million in spending to rank as the second heaviest day of the season, behind Tuesday December 9 when $887 million was spent.

ComScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni said, "With five fewer days of holiday shopping between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, there is increasing pressure on consumers to make their holiday purchases in time for Christmas. As a result, we've seen online shoppers continue to spend heavily even later into the season, with the most recent week including four of the top ten spending days of the season. Despite this positive development, the combination of the compressed holiday schedule and the challenging economic situation faced by many consumers means that retailers have their work cut out for them this season."

The top performing retail categories since Cyber Monday (December 1 through December 19) were Sport & Fitness (up 31 percent), Books & Magazines (up 18 percent), and Video Games, Consoles & Accessories (up 17 percent). Apparel & Accessories, the second largest online retail category by dollar sales, has seen sales grow strongly (up 15 percent) as a result of retailers' aggressive discounting and unseasonably cold weather across many parts of the country. Following a strong week of Cyber Monday, that was driven by large discounts on products such as flat screen TVs, sales of consumer electronics have slowed significantly in recent weeks. The softest retail categories include Music, Movies & Videos (down 24 percent), Office Supplies (down 19 percent), Jewelry & Watches (down 17 percent) and Home, Garden & Furniture (down 16 percent).

Source: ComScore