Online shopping hit a record volume of $23.2 billion with the exclusion of travel, up 25% from last year, report Goldman Sachs, Harris Interactive and Nielsen/NetRatings. Previous forecasts anticipated a 20% increase as opposed to 30% surge in the 2003 holiday season.

The top category in online shopping was the apparel and clothing category accounting for 16% of the total online spending with $3.76 billion. The next popular category was toys and video games that had an 11% market share with $2.53 billion. Consumer electronics spending totaled $2.31 billion with a 10% share.
Jewelry made a breakthrough increase nearly doubling its 2003 holiday sales of $888 million with online sales of $1.89 billion in 2004.

The leading players as expected were once again eBay and Amazon.com, according to Heather Dougherty, senior retail analyst at Nielsen/NetRatings. Web discounter Overstock.com, a discount website also did surprisingly well after revamping its computer system.

"Online shopping contributed significantly to overall 2004 holiday sales by attracting consumers through a broad product selection," said Dougherty. "Consumers have become accustomed to purchasing online over the years and look to the Internet to find comprehensive product information, competitive prices and easy gift delivery, allowing them to have more time to spend on other holiday activities."