Consumers Continue to Buy Online in Q1 2003, Despite War With Iraq.Business Editors Topical News: War On Terrorism Terrorist acts and the threat of Terrorism have occupied the various law enforcement agencies in the U.S. government for many years. The Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, as amended by the usa patriot act LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 1, 2003 Online Sales in January and February 2003 Grew 31% and 32%, Respectively, but Because of the War, March Sales Grew 20% Online shopping sales in the first quarter of 2003 continued to grow at a respectable rate despite the war in Iraq and a sluggish economy Sluggish Economy A state in the economy in which the growth is slow, flat or declining. The term can refer to the economy as a whole or a component of the economy, such as weak housing starts. . The first quarter of 2003 produced sales of $12.84 billion -- a 27% increase over the same period in 2002 when $10.08 billion was spent, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. leading comparison shopping site and e-commerce research firm BizRate.com. Post-holiday clearance sales in early January helped provide an early boost to first quarter sales with $738.6 million being spent from January 1-5, a 40% increase in sales compared to the same dates last year. While pre-war online sales were negatively affected for two days (March 17-18) by 14% and 8%, respectively, versus 2002, sales for the first week (March 20-26) of the war were still 19% higher than the same week of 2002. Online sales in January and February 2003 grew 31% and 32%, respectively, but because of the war, March sales grew 20%. "Online shopping is thriving both in war and peacetime conditions," said Chuck Davis  This article or section contains information about one or more candidates in an upcoming or ongoing election.Content may change as the election approaches. Charles E. , President & CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of BizRate.com. "This was a planned war and therefore online retail disruption was minimized compared to the shock of September 11th, 2001, when sales dropped 37% versus the previous day. With the economy stuck in second gear, consumers are flocking to the Internet to reap price savings and stretch their dollars further." The average jump in first quarter sales was driven mainly by the growth in orders made online and not by the amount spent. The average purchase price was down 2%, from $127 in Q1 2002 to $124 in Q1 2003. Orders were up 30% from 79.4 million in Q1 2002 to 103.6 million in Q1 2003.
Q1 2002 Q1 2003 % Change
Online Sales (billion) $10.08 $12.84 27%
Online Orders (million) 79.4 103.6 30%
Average Order Size $127 $124 (2%)
January February March Total Q1
2003 2003 2003 2003
Online Sales (billion) $4.55 $4.14 $4.15 $12.84
Growth over 2002 31% 32% 20% 27%
The top categories in terms of sales Terms of sale Conditions under which a firm proposes to sell its goods or services for cash or credit. volume were computer hardware ($3.43 billion), electronics ($2.16 billion) and entertainment ($1.88 billion). The strongest growth in Q1 came from health & beauty (61%), entertainment (58%) and computer hardware (41%) categories. About BizRate.com's E-Commerce Methodology BizRate.com, the leading online comparison shopping site, continuously monitors actual online sales from more than 3,000 online retailers. The real-time monitoring, utilizing BizRate.com's industry-leading feedback network, forms the backbone of BizRate.com's industry projections. BizRate.com releases data immediately after each calendar quarter closes, and occasionally during peak shopping periods. Periodically, BizRate.com will re-index its projections based on U.S. Census Bureau Noun 1. Census Bureau - the bureau of the Commerce Department responsible for taking the census; provides demographic information and analyses about the population of the United States Bureau of the Census data, which is released approximately two months after a quarterly close. BizRate.com projections cover domestic online retail product sales and exclude services, travel, and auctions. About BizRate.com Founded in 1996 and based in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. , BizRate.com (www.bizrate.com) is the leading comparison shopping site on the Web, and a leading provider of e-commerce research. The BizRate.com site offers shoppers best-of-breed comparison shopping features, including user-friendly Smiley See emoticon. smiley - emoticon Scale(TM) merchant reliability ratings compiled from a vast proprietary feedback network consisting of over 3,000 stores, who allow BizRate to solicit direct feedback at the point-of-sale and after fulfillment ful·fill also ful·fil tr.v. ful·filled, ful·fill·ing, ful·fills also ful·fils 1. To bring into actuality; effect: fulfilled their promises. 2. from over 10 million customers each month. In addition to merchant reliability information, BizRate.com offers product specs (SPECificationS) The details of the components built into a device. See specification. , consumer ratings and reviews of products, a comprehensive price comparison, including taxes, shipping and handling, as well as hundreds of special offers across 20 popular shopping categories. Consistently ranked in the top 5 e-commerce sites on the Web, BizRate.com is a privately held company privately held company A firm whose shares are held within a relatively small circle of owners and are not traded publicly. . BizRate.com ratings appear on Consumer Reports Online and in Consumer Reports magazine. For online retail sales, orders, purchase amounts, satisfaction and behavioral data and more, contact: Helen Malani at 310/754-1280. |
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