Early shoping
It was Christmas and the judge was in a merry mood as he asked the prisoner, "What are you charged with?" "Doing my Christmas shopping early", replied the defendant. "That's no offense", said the judge. "How early were you doing this shopping?"
"Before the store opened." Please press. Thanks!
Yet, four years after the internet bubble burst, online retailing is thriving - set to be the fastest-growing area of retailing this Christmas shopping season, as it was last year. ComScore Networks, a research firm, predicts that online sales for November and December - excluding travel sales and auction sites - will grow 23 to 26 per cent to about $15bn (£8bn) in the US, still by far the largest market.
For the full year, ComScore forecasts that US internet spending will leap 25 per cent from $52.9bn last year to about $66bn this year, driven by the spread of broadband connections and growing consumer confidence in shopping online. This trend is reflected in other developed markets - notably the UK and Japan, where companies show that innovative internet retailing is a global phenomenon.
It was Christmas and the judge was in a merry mood as he asked the prisoner, "What are you charged with?" "Doing my Christmas shopping early", replied the defendant. "That's no offense", said the judge. "How early were you doing this shopping?"
"Before the store opened." Please press. Thanks!
Yet, four years after the internet bubble burst, online retailing is thriving - set to be the fastest-growing area of retailing this Christmas shopping season, as it was last year. ComScore Networks, a research firm, predicts that online sales for November and December - excluding travel sales and auction sites - will grow 23 to 26 per cent to about $15bn (£8bn) in the US, still by far the largest market.
For the full year, ComScore forecasts that US internet spending will leap 25 per cent from $52.9bn last year to about $66bn this year, driven by the spread of broadband connections and growing consumer confidence in shopping online. This trend is reflected in other developed markets - notably the UK and Japan, where companies show that innovative internet retailing is a global phenomenon.