Weekly eCommerce Holiday Sales, 2009-2012 [CHART]

Chart - Weekly eCommerce Holiday Sales

Consumers bought their consumer electronics gifts early on during the holiday period (defined as November 18 – December 22), as sales dropped off as the season continued, says The NPD Group. 46.1% of total consumer electronics (CE) sales occurred during the first 2 weeks of the season, up from 44.4% in 2011, 43.4% in 2010, and 42.2% in 2009. Overall, sales declined by 7% year-over-year to $13.7 billion: down 3.7% in the first 2 weeks of the season, and by more than 11% in the latter 3 weeks.

The NPD Group’s CE category excludes Amazon Kindle products, as well as the iPad, Surface, mobile phones and video games. Including those would likely give a more positive result, given estimates showing record smartphone and tablet activations on Christmas Day. Read the rest at MarketingCharts.