Update on Online Holiday Shopping

"Shoppers have been using their mouse as much as their cars this holiday season," said Mike Duffy, president and chief executive officer, Chase Paymentech. "Less than two weeks into the holiday shopping season, sales volume for Chase Paymentech Pulse Index merchants this year is more than 30 percent above last year's total volume. We're starting seeing a shift of consumer shopping preference during the peak season."

While the Black Friday focus was on brick-and-mortar retail activity, online shopping also experienced a boost. The post-Thanksgiving weekend sales volume for Chase Paymentech Pulse Index merchants rose 38 percent over the same weekend in 2006.

The trend continued as Americans returned to work on Cyber Monday. Sales volume for the 10 retail Web sites tracked by the Chase Paymentech Pulse Index reached $104.8 million on that day.

Earlier this year, Forrester Research principal analyst Sucharita Mulpuru forecasted a 21 percent increase in US online retail sales this holiday season. Initial sales tracked by the Chase Paymentech Pulse Index indicate a strong interest in online deals with a consistent year-over-year increase of between 30 and 35 percent, beginning with Black Friday.

In a guest commentary on the Chase Paymentech Pulse Index Web site ( http://pulse.chasepaymentech.com), Mulpuru notes that "Online sales for the holiday season are off to an extremely strong start. Retailers on average appear to be up in the strong double-digits for the comparable time period last year; these numbers are even stronger than the growth experienced from 2005 to 2006. The aggressiveness of retailer promotions is certainly a factor, but the overall comfort level that consumers have with the overall shopping experience is likely driving this very promising growth."