Online shopping is no Christmas turkey

NEWS Dataquest is predicting a huge rise in online spending this Christmas as consumer fears over ecommerce security decrease. Figures released by the research house predict worldwide online spending will reach $2.35bn - more than double the $1bn spent during the same period last year. A study of the US online market by Marketing Corp appears to support Dataquest's findings. Marketing Corp partner, Craig Johnson, said: "We continue to see virtually exponential growth in online purchasing penetration, from barely 1 per cent [of the total retail market] a year ago, to 4 per cent last spring, and now to 10 per cent in the first week after Thanksgiving."