Shoppers Visit Online Auction Sites in Post-Holiday Season

Mission Viejo, Calif. Millions of bargain shoppers are turning to online auction sites to save money after the holidays, according to comScore, a global Internet information provider.

About 21% of those surveyed shopped at online auction sites during the post-holiday season. The study also said that 46% of shoppers sought out less expensive gifts, and another 37% are spending more time researching deals online.

As many retailers report weak sales results, others continue to see increased activity. Auction site PropertyRoom.com, for example, had over 30 million page views in Dec. 2008 and over a million visitors, which was a 35% increase over Dec. 2007. Along with record traffic, the company saw a 25% revenue increase over last year’s holiday season.

PropertyRoom.com is an online auction site that works with over 1,300 law-enforcement agencies across the country. The site allows consumers to purchase merchandise that was previously stolen and that the agency was unable to return to the rightful owner.