Computer hardware is the fastest growing category in online holiday shopping, according to metrics firm ComScore. The company said in a report issued on Sunday that computer hardware sales are up 25%, and that it is Apple’s iPad and e-readers that are behind much of that gain.
“Computer Hardware ranks as the top growing category for the holiday season to date with a 25-percent increase versus last year,” ComScore said in a statement. “Purchases of handheld devices (such as Apple iPads and e-readers) and laptop computers drove much of the growth.”
Source: ComScore
In a it-turns-out-the-world-is-bigger-than-Apple related note, ComScore also said that the week ending December 17th (which makes for a strange accounting of a “week” that begins Saturday and ends on Friday) was the heaviest week for online shopping in history with US$5.5 billion in sales, up 14% over 2009.
The firm said that this was pushed along by “Free Shipping Day,” a promotion run by many retailers on Friday, December 17th. Four days during the week saw shopping exceed $900 million, with Friday hitting $942 million.