Holiday spending was up 35% in 2003

Harris Interactive and Nielsen//NetRatings report this month that online holiday spending totaled $18.5 billion in the US in 2003, noting a 35% rise over online spending in 2002. As part of their eSpending Report, the companies note that the most popular online shopping category in 2003, according to online revenues, was apparel and clothing which generated over $3.7 billion during the holiday. In fact, this category experienced revenue growth of exactly 40% over the 2002 holiday season, second only in growth to the video and DVD category, which grew by 46% over the year.