Christmas Shopping Boomed Online says GetPrice

Some good news for a change: Christmas shopping boomed online says GetPrice

Customers of online retailers had open wallets, even for expensive items, according to GetPrice’s December 2008 shopping index

GetPrice.com.au’s traffic was up 240 per cent in Christmas 2008 compared with Christmas 2007* according to GetPrice CEO, Chris Hitchen.

The comparison shopping site also tracked 64 per cent more orders for expensive items last December than during Christmas 2007.

Mr Hitchen said GetPrice’s healthy December performance supported findings by the Australian Centre for Retail Studies that there is optimism among Australians for the year ahead.

“Consumer confidence, in the e-tail marketplace at least, looks strong,” he said.

“There certainly doesn’t seem to be any economic doom and gloom online.”

Mr Hitchen said the average sales value per order in December 2007 was just $138 whereas this figure surged to $215 last Christmas.

“The substantial increase in sales values reflects two things,” he said.

“Firstly, people are recognising the value and savings to be made online, a factor exacerbated by the economic downturn.

“Secondly, people are generally becoming more confident placing orders online as e-tail activity approaches the tipping point between new technology and mainstream activity.”

The most popular product categories before and after Christmas were digital cameras, vitamins and nutrition, sunglasses, watches, skin care and refrigerators.

Categories that experienced the biggest growth from October to December 2008 were

• game consoles (338 per cent),
• televisions (321 per cent),
• digital cameras (321 per cent)
• puzzles and games (320 per cent).

“Games and consoles are becoming increasingly popular because they’re not just about gaming,” Mr Hitchen said. “They are also home entertainment systems, using for downloading, communicating and consuming a variety of media.”

Price envy: Did you pay too much for any of these items last month?

The biggest price differences:

• Sony DCRSR45 Camcorder - prices ranged between $699 and $520, a difference of $179 (34 per cent)
• Apple iPod Nano 4th Generation 16GB – prices ranged between $281 and $218, a difference of $63 (29 per cent)
• Samsung PS50A450 50 inch Plasma Television – prices ranged between $2,249 and $1,724, a difference of $525 (30 per cent)
• Nokia N95 Mobile Phone – prices ranged between $850 and $531, a difference of $319 (60 per cent)

The biggest price drops:

• Samsung YPP2 4GB Media Player – dropped from $211 to $109, a difference of $102 (48 per cent)
• Sony NBA 08 PS3 Playstation Game – dropped from $89 to $46, a difference of $43 (48 per cent)
• Lenovo Thinkpad SL300 – dropped from $1,498 to $1,160, a difference of $338 (23 per cent)
• Nina Ricci Nina 80ml Women’s Perfume – dropped from $69 to $59, a difference of $10 (14 per cent)
• Sony Cybershot DSCW150 Digital Camera – dropped from $225 to $199, a difference of $26 (12 per cent)

*Souce: Google Analytics