Online Sales Dominate Christmas Gifts Market

While traditional retail stores and malls suffered through a meager holiday season, online stores posted record numbers in 2009, according to a report from Creative Christmas Gifts and Gift Ideas.

Some big box stores, such as Wal-Mart and Target, staved off terrible seasons by offering huge discounts, but many smaller chain stores could not weather the storm. Abercrombie & Fitch, for instance, posted losses of 12% in November and 10% in December — numbers bad enough to force the company to close almost a third of its stores.

Online Sales Dominate Christmas Gifts Market

Overall, online sales between November 1st and December 24th increased by 5% relative to 2008. The biggest winner of the holiday season was Amazon, which is expected to announce revenues of more than $9 billion during the months of November and December. Last year, Amazon earned some $6.7 billion during the holiday season.

While most chain stores suffered, a few succeeded this year, due in large part to their devotion to online marketing and promotion techniques. Urban Outfitters, for instance, posted record-breaking revenues. In recent years, Urban Outfitters has revamped its website to create a Facebook-like social network. Likewise, JC Penney has successfully created a major online store by funneling more marketing dollars into Facebook and Twitter promotions.

For the full story, go to Creative Christmas Gifts and Gift Ideas.