E-Commerce Update

As the holiday shopping season shifts into high gear, we offer these tidbits regarding online shopping and purchasing trends.

• Broadband Internet access will be available to 75% of U.S. households by the end of this year, according to Yankee Group, a market research firm. This is up from 60% at the end of 2000. Cable modem service (accessible by 66% of homes) has surpassed digital subscriber line (DSL) service (accessible by 45% of homes).

• Both Yahoo and Microsoft reported dramatic year-over-year increases in online shopping over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Online shopping visits to Yahoo were up 75%; online visits to MSN Shopping were up 150%. Although the number of selling merchants was about the same as last year, there are fewer pure "etailers" and a greater online presence of traditional, brick-and-mortar retailers. Five of the top six virtual department stores are divisions of strong brick and mortar brands. Amazon.com is the sole exception and hands-down leader in the e-commerce category. It had 1.7 million visitors over the holiday weekend this year, up from 1.3 million last year. Amazon's total number of visits dwarfs second-ranked Wal-Mart, whose site had 355,000 visitors, up 132% from a year ago. Rounding out the top six were Target, Kmart, Sears Roebuck and J.C. Penney.

• The Web has turned out to be an important tool for car shoppers. 62% of all new-vehicle buyers use the Web to shop and gather information before visiting dealers, according to J.D. Power and Associates. On average, a new-car buyer who uses the Web to shop visits 6.8 automotive sites before making a purchase. Kelley Blue Book was the most frequently visited site. Edmunds.com was judged to be the most useful.