According to Andrew Reid, senior analyst, Nielsen//NetRatings, there was an -uneven spread" during this period of online shopping, indicating it was worth the while for both 'clicks and bricks' retailers and dot.com brands that sat out last year's market dejection.
-In more recent times, major offline brands were expected to dominate online retailing, but by riding out the storm and waiting on changes in consumer confidence in online purchasing, a number of the dot-com retailer brands have gained traction," Reid said.
Whilst the December influx of online shoppers served to add to the impetus of a space already gathering momentum, it also suggests -the debate about which group of retailers will own online retailing - pure dot-coms or 'clicks and bricks' - is a red herring. It's no longer a war of attrition between these two classes of online retailers, it's a battle for market share," Reid added.
However, Reid conceded that whether or not those consumers spending at dot-com sites are -true converts" to online shopping or just flirt with it once a year remains to be seen.
Standout performer Harvey Norman experienced a 178 percent growth rate between November and December, but didn't manage to knock David Jones off the number one 'clicks and bricks', according to the Nielsen//NetRatings online shopping index.
Amazon maintained its position as the number one dot-com, whilst competitors Chaos Music and Wishlist posted strong seasonal gains, rising 50 percent and 11 percent respectively in the lead up to Christmas.
According to Neilsen//NetRatings, an interesting fact to come out of this festive shopping spree is that there was more movement between shopping sites - indicating more comparison shopping and/or multiple visits taking place during each online session.
-This is encouraging for the sector, but it also signals the emergence of a consumer more comfortable about moving beyond their trusted brands to compare on price or product range. If retailers have used the in-store experience in the past as a competitive advantage, then finding online differentiators beyond brand and price is going to be difficult," Reid said.
