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TMCNet:  Online retail sales growth slumps as consumers cut back

[November 20, 2008]

Online retail sales growth slumps as consumers cut back

(Dallas Morning News, The Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Nov. 20--E-commerce sales continued to slow in the third quarter, as online sales are proving they aren't immune to the overall economic downturn.

The U.S. Census Bureau said Wednesday that e-commerce sales increased 5.7 percent in the third quarter -- only the second time the quarterly increase wasn't in double digits since the measurement started in 1999. Online sales increased 0.3 percent from the second quarter of 2008, which also had less growth than other quarters.

Still e-commerce sales are doing better than total retail sales, which declined 1.4 percent from the second quarter and increased a modest 0.3 percent from a year ago.

The government data reflect sales through September, but the slowdown continued in October, according to comScore Inc. The Internet measurement company said Tuesday that October online retail sales increased 1 percent from a year ago. That's the lowest monthly growth since it began tracking e-commerce in 2001. It is also the sixth consecutive month of lower sales increases.

ComScore chairman Gian Fulgoni said, "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."

Shoppers who curtailed online spending were those with household income less than $50,000, comScore said.

Retailers posted some of their biggest declines of the year in September and October. E-commerce sales from chains, including J.C. Penney Co., Neiman Marcus Group and others, also have slowed.

E-COMMERCE SALES

To see more of The Dallas Morning News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.dallasnews.com.

Copyright (c) 2008, The Dallas Morning News
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