According to initial reports, Amazon.co.uk sold 3.2 million items in the period between 2nd November and 19th December, twice its 1999 figure. Over a similar period, Tesco.com’s sales of groceries and general purpose goods numbered 60,000 per week, taking its total sales for the year to around £200 million.
In the US, according to a report by Goldman Sachs and PC Data, an internet research company, on-line Christmas shopping reached $8.7 billion, double the figure for 1999. Members of AOL, the leading ISP in the US, appear to be responsible for a significant part of this figure, having accounted for sales of $4.6 billion, an 84% rise on last year, according to the company.
There is still some dispute about the unofficial figures being quoted by companies and analysts. Official figures are expected later this month which could have an important bearing on investor confidence. The business models which helped fund many current internet retailers relied on a massive increase in on-line shopping; the official Christmas sales figures will help determine whether that growth is taking place fast enough.