Small Gadgets, Appliances Lead Online Purchases

Spending on gadgets in a number of categories increased significantly in May and June of 2000, according to the NRF/Forrester Online Retail Index.

Spending on gadgets in a number of categories increased significantly in May and June of 2000, according to the NRF/Forrester Online Retail Index.

“Father’s Day and college graduations sent online sales of small appliances, toys/video games, sporting goods, and tools and hardware through the roof,” said David Cooperstein, research director at Forrester. “Overall spending in these four categories alone increased by 51 percent in June.”

Total spending increased from $3.4 billion in May to more than $4 billion in June, with the average spent per consumer rising from $249 to $288.

May/June 2000 NRF/Forrester Online Retail Index
Category Total Spent
in June

(in thousands)
Total Spent
in May

(in thousands)
June Index
Results

(May/June)
Small-Ticket Items
Software $151,596 $117,302 1.29
Books $197,566 $141,256 1.40
Music $150,637 $116,291 1.30
Videos $80,726 $72,558 1.11
Office Supplies $110,930 $101,545 1.09
Apparel $154,277 $153,502 1.01
Footwear $43,331 $45,277 0.96
Jewelry $76,832 $53,956 1.42
Flowers $57,047 $72,776 0.78
Linens/Home Decor $62,990 $64,441 0.98
Health and Beauty $123,527 $134,219 0.92
Small appliances $48,083 $33,998 1.41
Toys/Video Games $116,412 $75,316 1.55
Sporting Goods $76,168 $47,371 1.61
Tools and Hardware $63,027 $44,029 1.43
Big-Ticket Items
Computer hardware $424,527 $303,368 1.40
Consumer Electronics $219,054 $151,858 1.44
Appliances $29,542 $26,430 1.12
Furniture $42,467 $50,645 0.84
Food/Beverages $129,802 $113,531 1.14
Airline Tickets $664,278 $593,869 1.12
Car Rental $168,019 $182,195 0.92
Hotel Reservations $420,114 $277,811 1.51
Other $373,259 $369,931 1.01
Total Spending $4,016,697 $3,375,324 1.19
Number of Shoppers 13,937 13,540 1.03
Average Spent per Consumer $288.20 $249.29 1.16
Source: NRF/Forrester

About the index:
The NRF/Forrester Online Retail Index measures, on a monthly basis, the growth and seasonality of online shopping based on data collected from online shoppers. The Index is based on 5,000 responses to an online panel fielded by Greenfield Online during the first 10 business days of each month. The monthly panel is weighted to Forrester Research’s Benchmark Panel, which surveyed nearly 90,000 US and Canadian members of a consumer mail panel developed by NPD Group. Data was weighed to represent the North American population demographically.

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