- Title: USA: ONELINE SHOPPING ON INTERNET HOTS UP AS CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS APPROACH
- Date: 9th December 2000
- Summary: GAP SIGN ZOOM OUT SLV STORE (2 SHOTS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) CASSAR SAYING "Well, probably the most significant thing we will see this year relative to last year is that the brick and mortar retailers are online in force. Last year a number of the large brick and mortar retailers had not yet moved online. Some of those that had did not have aggressive initiatives by any s
- Embargoed: 24th December 2000 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, AND SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Industry
- Reuters ID: LVA3LV4N0SEF3PTJQY8A4A420FTR
- Story Text: The race for online holiday dollars is more frenzied than ever during this year's shopping season. Though consumers are expected to spend more than twice as much as they did last year, this season can make or break some online retailers.
The holidays are upon us. Santa's bells signal another ring for this season, that of the cash register. As shoppers hit the stores in droves, donning their grand apparel, many are opting to do their shopping online. With the recent consolidation in online retailing, this year's holiday shopping season is make or break for many sites.
Jupiter Communications, an Internet research firm, estimated that $11.6 billion will be spent online this holiday season, a 66% increase over last year.
With figures like those, people might predict that the Internet economy is still buzzing. Consumers are buying online while Wall Street is in the middle of a dot com spending spree. The race for market share and profitability is more crucial than ever for online retailers this year.
Ken Cassar of Jupiter Communications said, "There are a few sites for whom this will be a make or break holiday season. There are a few high profile players in the toy space that have struggled in the past, where customer satisfaction will be absolutely critical this holiday season."
Amazon.com is sitting at the top of Nielsen/NetRatings E-Tailing List with 54 million shopping visits during the first half of the online holiday season. Amazon.com's partnership with ToysRUs is one of many "click and brick"
pairings looking to leverage the benefits of an online giant with a brick and mortar heavyweight.
That partnership poses a serious threat to foundering online pureplay, Etoys. The Santa Monica-California-based company has seen its stock hammered in recent months. Last year, it was enough to spend millions on marketing simply to build market share, but this year, profits are the bottom line.
Sites are focusing on a positive customer experience in the hopes that people will return after the holidays.
Barbara Coughlan, an advertising executive in Manhattan likes the experience of off-line shopping, but the convenience of online purchasing. She plans to do more online shopping this year than last. She said, 'I would say definitely more.
I've seen just in the last couple of weeks also. For example last weekend I actually went shopping out in the stores, in department stores and toy stores and it was great to see everything but at the same time the lines were so long I couldn't imagine staying there. So I ended up coming home and actually getting online and buying the things from the same stores but just buying them online."
Stores like Banana Republic, J Crew, and the Gap have amped up their online presence this years. Cassar says its part of a trend this year,
"Well - probably the most significant thing we will see this year relative to last year is that the brick and mortar retailers are online in force.
Last year a number of the large brick and mortar retailers had not yet moved online. Some of those that had did not have aggressive initiatives by any stretch of the imagination"
Still, the vast majority of shoppers will brave the cold and the crowds to do their holiday shopping. Mitsy who plans on doing about half of her shopping online said,
"You don't have to carry the shopping, it comes to your door."
Her friend Chris said, "You can get it overnight as well - that's quite easy"
Still, not everyone is convinced. Eddie doesn't trust his credit card to the Internet. He is not planning on doing any shopping online because, "First of all - firstly - my home computer - I really don't know how to use it that well. And I don't know - your card gets out and you don't know what's going to happen to it"
Still, the thought of carrying loads of packages around might be unappealing. Romona is carrying just a small portion of her Christmas shopping. She said,
"I challenged my brother actually - he's doing his shopping online and I'm doing it on foot."
And who is winning? Ramona replied, "I think he is - he's more relaxed - I'm going home with a headache" - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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