DMA White Paper: Internet and Catalog Holiday Sales Are Up 8.3% Over Last Year

December 15, 2006 — The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) has released a white paper on holiday shopping which indicates that the average combined Internet and catalog holiday sales are 8.3 percent higher than they were during the same period in 2005.

“We are seeing a healthier year than we did during the 2005 holiday season, which saw a 7.5 percent increase over 2004,” said Anna Chernis, senior research manager for DMA. “For the holiday season to date this year, online sales have increased by 11.3 percent while catalog sales have increased by 2.2 percent.”

Approximately two-thirds (60.0 percent) of the marketers surveyed are experiencing combined catalog and Internet holiday sales that are higher than those for the same period in 2005. That is down slightly from 64.3 percent in DMA’s 2005 holiday survey.

DMA’s survey also found that approximately three quarters (72.0 percent) of those surveyed marketers report that their Internet sales were higher than for the same timeframe last year. A third of catalog sellers report 2006 holiday sales that are higher than they were for the same period in 2005. Both of these showings are comparable to last year’s survey.

Only 12.7 percent of marketers report that their overall holiday catalog and Internet sales are down from last year, while last holiday season this percent was much higher (23.8 percent).

While a third (32.7 percent) of catalog seller indicated that their holiday sales to date were down from 2005, only 7.3 percent said their Internet sales had declined vis-à-vis last year.

Gift and collectibles, men’s and women’s apparel, home décor and furniture are being sold by 36 percent of companies during the 2006 holiday season. Other popular product lines include book, music and videos (18.2 percent) and food and beverages (18.2 percent).

To access this members-only white paper, DMA members can visit http://www.the-dma.org/cgi/member/whitepapers/15536.pdf.

Holiday Shopping at a Glance:

Printed Catalogs Turbo Charge Interactive Marketing

With the holiday shopping season underway, Americans are flocking to catalogs, the Web, and retail stores to find items on their holiday gift lists. DMA provides the following statistics about how much people are spending, what they are buying, and how they will do their shopping this holiday season.

Who is buying?

· More than two-thirds of Americans – 68 percent – shop from home, buying from catalogs, over the Internet, over the phone, or through the mail.

· Seventy-two percent of women shop from the home or office, compared to 63 percent of men.

How much will they spend?

· American adults plan to spend an average of $1,577 per person on holiday gifts in 2006.

· Men plan to spend $1,788 on gifts, while women plan to spend $1,318.

· Americans plan to spend an average of $203 on apparel gifts this holiday season. Other popular gifts include food ($240), electronics/computers ($192), general gifts ($201), toys and games ($129), home décor or furniture ($125), books/music/videos ($99), sporting goods ($69), tickets for sports/entertainment ($65), pet supplies ($46), flowers ($27), and gardening supplies ($34).

· Consumers and businesses will spend $144 billion on catalog purchases in 2006, an increase from $134 billion last year.

· The Web will generate nearly $339 billion in sales of all products and services in 2006, up from $275 billion in 2005.

When do they shop?

· Fourteen percent of shoppers planned to buy all of their holiday gifts before Thanksgiving.

· An additional 32 percent of shoppers will finish their gift buying two weeks before the holiday. Forty-five percent wait until the final week to complete their shopping, with 23 percent finishing the day before the holiday.

· Men are more likely to procrastinate, with 48 percent finishing their shopping the final week compared to 43 percent of women.

Why do they shop from home or office?

· Seventy percent of shoppers cite convenience as the reason they shop via catalogs, the Internet, mail, or phone.

· Other reasons for shopping from home or office include variety (50 percent), to save money (43 percent), and customer service (27 percent).

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