By John Oates, 18 December 1998 00:15
NEWS Ecommerce appears to be fulfilling its promise this Christmas in the US. America Online is claiming a 350 per cent increase in visits to its shopping site compared to last year. It is also claiming a 48 per cent increase in average spending - up to $54 per item. Jupiter Communications is predicting a total online spend of $2.3bn over the holiday season in the US. In the UK the situation is less clear with most retailers refusing to give figures yet. A spokesman for Tesco, which has just relaunched its Web site, said: "We are getting lots of new customers and lots of people using it. It is popular for buying bulky items - the basics." But he refused to give figures on how much money the site was bringing in. The site now offers other services like checking league table rankings of local schools and checking loyalty card points. But another online retailer who asked to remain anonymous said Christmas has been disappointing. He blamed media speculation about the recession for encouraging people to spend less than usual.
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