For the holiday season through December 12, $19.44 billion has been spent online, about the same amount as last year. For the twelve days beginning with December 1 (Cyber Monday), the kick-off to the heaviest part of the online shopping season, sales totaled $8.26 billion up 3 percent compared to a year ago.

The most recent work week (December 8-12) saw ecommerce sales slip slightly by a marginal 1 percent, although Tuesday, December 9 was the heaviest online spending day on record with $887 million in sales.

"After a very strong first week of December, e-commerce sales growth slowed somewhat during the most recent week," said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni. "However, the week still managed to see a few particularly strong spending days, with sales of $887 million on Tuesday, December 9 surpassing Green Monday last year (December 10, 2007) as the heaviest online spending day on record."

"With Christmas now fast approaching, look for online retailers to continue to offer enticing last-minute deals, including discounts on expedited shipping, to spur a final wave of spending. In fact, some retailers are even willing to offer free shipping as late as December 18 this year with a guarantee that the shipment will arrive by Christmas Eve. It will be interesting to see the impact that this offer has in terms of pulling additional spending from retail stores to the online channel."

The fastest growing product categories from December 1 through December 12 were apparel & accessories (up21 percent, trailed by books & magazines (up 18 percent), and flowers, greetings & gift (up 18 percent).

Apparel & accessories, the second largest online retail category buy dollar sales, has seen sales growth because of large discounts and unseasonably cold weather in many parts of the country.
 

The report said that the softness in online retail spending was due in part by negative spending growth in households earning less than $50,000 a year.

"While rising prices remained consumers’ biggest concern in October, it’s clear that the increase in the country’s unemployment rate along with the shock of the financial market meltdown have had a negative impact on the psyche of the American consumer, and the effects were clearly felt in the online retail sector," said comScore chairman, Gian Fulgoni.

"October represented the softest single-month of online retail growth on record, and we can only hope that the recent sharp drop in oil prices will cause a continued easing of inflation and a strengthening in consumer spending as we enter the critical holiday shopping season."

Overall, online retail spending from August through October grew 4 percent compared to a year ago, with spending dipping by 3 percent among households making less than $50,000.
 
Households with income between $50,000 and $100,000 showed a slight positive spending growth of 1 percent, while those earning at least $100,000 increased their spending at a solid rate of 14 percent.

"It’s clear that worry, concern and even fear are the prevailing consumer sentiments at the moment, and this is causing all income segments to pull back their spending," added Fulgoni.

"With the financial markets still volatile and more job cuts looming, it would appear the only near term ray of hope for this year’s holiday shopping season is that the sharp drop in oil prices will cause an easing in inflation and provide a much needed boost in consumers’ spending power."