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Online Vendors Enjoy Happy Holidays

Men spend more than women, and older buyers jump in, says Zona Research.

By Paul Heltzel, PCWorld   

The average online shopper in the study spent $629 online during the 1998 holiday season, Zona reports, compared to $216 last year, even though more than half had spent nothing at all in 1997.

Survey respondents were drawn from a sample of 1022 Internet users of varying computer experience. More than half the respondents shopped online this year, and of those 92 percent made one or more purchases online this holiday season.

"Last year it was primarily early adopters," says Jack Staff, Zona director and chief economist. "It was difficult to find goods, and you wondered if the service was reliable. This year a lot of those issues have been resolved."

Online buyers from the study on average bought about 26 percent of all their holiday gifts online. No less than 61 percent of the buyers expect to spend more money online next year.

About three quarters of the purchases were for books, music, and videotapes. About half the products bought were computer-related.

Who Bought, How Much?

Men spent more than women this year (an average of $707 each, compared to $543) but women's buying saw a larger jump, up 308 percent compared to men's 145 percent.

Not surprisingly, Zona found large differences between shoppers of various ages. The biggest spenders: Respondents older than 55, who spent an average of $1819 compared to $281 last year. In comparison, respondents between 50 and 54 years old spent $626 compared with $97 last year. Respondents 25 and younger spent about 36 percent more this year than in 1997 ($210 compared last year's $154).

But buyers between 35 and 44 years old had the greatest percentage of online purchases of any age group--about a third of their holiday shopping.

In related news, America Online announced that its members spent $1 billion between November 26 and December 27. AOL says more than 1 million members shopped online for the first time this season.