Holiday Shoppers Help Internet Sales Rise 24%

Online sales have risen 24% from a year earlier to $6.96 billion this month as shoppers got an early start on their holiday purchases, research firm ComScore Networks Inc. said Monday.

Shoppers spent the most Nov. 22, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, when sales jumped 55% to $441 million, Reston, Va.-based ComScore said. The firm measured sales from Nov. 1 through Friday.

More shoppers are making their purchases at work rather than at home, with Internet connections at offices accounting for 58% of all online spending Nov. 14 to 18, ComScore said.

Holiday sales over the Internet are rising as retailers offer free shipping and discounts and as customers grow more comfortable buying online.

Shoppers spent about $380 million last year on the Monday after Thanksgiving, their first workday back in the office after the holiday weekend, ComScore said.

People who have spent the weekend in stores may make purchases at work during their lunch hours, said Patti Freeman Evans, an analyst with Jupiter Research in New York.

ComScore estimates that overall online shopping this year will climb to $19.6 billion, an increase of 24% from 2004. The research firm monitors the Internet usage of 2 million shoppers to gauge sales figures.

Websites including Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s www.walmart.com were e-mailing shoppers and extending holiday sales to capture such traffic Monday, said Heather Dougherty, an analyst at Nielsen/NetRatings.

The number of shoppers visiting online retailers jumped 29% the day after Thanksgiving from the comparable Friday a year earlier, New York-based Nielsen said Saturday.