New York–This year’s holiday online retail and travel sales will reach approximately $11.9 billion, an 11% increase over last year’s $10.8 billion, according to research firm Jupiter Media Metrix. The study also concluded that 46 million people will be shopping online this holiday, up from 36 million in 2000.
More women than men will take to the Internet for online shopping this holiday, accounting for 53% of the total online buying population. But average holiday spending per male will be higher, due to purchases in categories with higher price points such as consumer electronics and PCs. What’s more, the study claims that online holiday budget allocation is increasing while spending per person is decreasing as a result of the weakened economy. Only 14% of those that plan to buy gifts online say they will spend less than 10% of their budget online, compared with 18% in 2000 and 61% in 1999.