Chase Paymentech: Online Holiday Shopping Strong to the
End
Jan. 6, 2012
Online sales remained strong throughout the holiday season,
with the 50 leading U.S. online merchants comprising the Chase Paymentech Cyber Holiday Pulse
Index setting sales records. For the period of Nov. 1 to Dec. 31,
2011, transactions were up 37 percent, sales rose 25 percent, and average tickets
declined 9 percent year-over-year. For the full month of December, transactions
were up 35 percent and sales were up 22 percent versus December 2010.
Chase Paymentech said continuing growth is due to the ongoing secular shift to
e-commerce, especially heavy holiday promotional activity this year and the
shift to digital media moving a large number of transactions online. The
Pulse found that online shoppers made the most of the final days, driving
transactions and sales higher right up to the last minute. With Christmas Day
falling on a Sunday this year, chase Paymentech said merchants were able to
offer guaranteed shipping later into the week, giving consumers extra time to
make online purchases. Shopping resumed on Monday, Dec. 26 as consumers
took advantage of post-holiday deals, redeemed gift cards, and filled their new
digital devices with media.