According to a report released by market research firm ComScore, in Q4 2009 online retail spending has seen an increase of 3 percent compared to the corresponding period of 2008, reaching USD 39 billion. Such a growth marks the end of four consecutive quarters of year-over-year declines.
Total retail e-commerce spending amassed USD 129.8 billion for the whole 2009, marginally below the previous year’s total of USD 130.1 billion.
ComScore estimates that online retail spending growth in 2010 is expected to be hindered by continued high unemployment and the deleveraging occurring in the economy as consumers exercise their propensity to save.