Research Topic

Chicago -- A report released Wednesday by ShopperTrak found that holiday shoppers boosted sales 21.7% over the previous week and 1.3% over the same week last year.

According to ShopperTrak, sales increases during the week ending Dec. 17 made this December on pace to have higher retail sales than last year. Month-to-date figures are up 0.5% over December 2010.

San Francisco -- A new survey conducted this past weekend by Visa Inc. shows that 77% of consumers still need to buy holiday gifts this week. These last-minute shoppers will spend an average of $278 in the final days leading up to Christmas and Hanukkah.

Reston, Va. -- Shoppers spent 14% more for online holiday spending during the week ending Dec. 18, according to comScore. Online spending totaled $6.4 billion for the week, making it the busiest week ever in online holiday shopping.

Shoppers have spent almost $32 billion online for the holiday season to date, a 15% increase from a year ago, comScore reported. The period includes the first 48 days of the holiday season spanning the months of November and December, according to comScore.

Reston, Va. -- Following recent e-commerce trends released by comScore, online spending continues to grow at a consistent 15% rate. As reported earlier, holiday e-commerce spending rose 15% year-over-year to $26.8 billion for the first 42 days of the shopping season, through Dec. 12.

And on Sunday, comScore released its latest findings, that online sales surpassed $1 billion on four days during the work week of December 12-16, a 15% increase over the same period last year.

Bethesda, Md. -- IBM on Monday released its Benchmark projection for online sales for the month of December, showing that online sales are expected to grow by 9.5% to 10% year-over-year.

For the week of Dec. 11, the report showed that online sales rose 10.8% over the same week in 2010. Mobile traffic increased to 12.1% of all online retailing sessions, compared with 5% over the same week last year and reflecting a 143.9% increase.

Fort Lauderdale, Fla. -- A survey released Monday by Spherion Staffing Services said that when consumers have a positive customer service experience, they are more likely than ever before to share their opinions than in previous years, especially via social media, online review sites, and with the company itself.

WASHINGTON — AAA forecasts 91.9 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home during the 2011-2012 year-end holiday travel season, a 1.4% increase over the 90.7 million people who traveled one year ago, the travel organization announced earlier this week. This year’s expected year-end holiday travel volume is the second-highest in the past decade and represents 30% of the total U.S. population.

Montreal -- A survey released Friday by e-commerce visitor feedback analytics firm iPerceptions found that, despite online retail sales being up, online retailers are missing out on revenue opportunities.

Third quarter 2011 Retail Ecommerce industry report showed that, while U.S. retail sales estimates show online retail spending rose 13% year-over-year to $36.3 billion for the quarter, task completion fell significantly for visitors at nearly every stage of the retail purchase cycle.