Sales in the online retail sector fell flat in January, according to the latest Coremetrics US Benchmark report for the month.

Consumers continued browsing through websites at levels similar to those of December 2008.

However, the number of sessions in which consumers actually completed an order was down sharply by 21% as fewer people made the leap from browsing to actual buying.

In fact, order sessions were down in all categories except for Intimate Apparel and Office Supplies Retailers, who reported increases of nearly 5.5% and nearly 8% respectively.

Specialty retailers reported an alarming 56% drop in order sessions, the largest decrease of any retail category tracked by Coremetrics.

Coremetrics is a major provider of online marketing and business solutions. Its Benchmark Reports measure online marketing results, including commerce data, against those of the competition. More than 300 leading US retailers, representing approximately $15 billion in revenues annually, contribute their analytics data to Benchmark.

"Our data suggests that consumers are very nervous about the economy and that an economic recovery fueled in large part by online consumer spending has not happened yet," said John Squire, chief strategy officer for Coremetrics.

"It isn't all doom and gloom, however. Some categories are actually doing a good job of attracting consumers. And when we look at the average number of items per online order, we see that those consumers who actually decided to buy online bought more items for a higher total dollar amount."

Compared to December 2008, the average number of items that consumers purchased per order rose by 23% in the online retail category as a whole. The average dollar value of those orders also rose by 8%.

However, comparing those same metrics to January 2008 shows that the average number of items per order and their average dollar value were actually down 4.5% and nearly 5% respectively.

Notable Retail Categories Compared to December 2008:

• Home goods retailers were extremely successful at enticing fewer shoppers to buy more items for a higher total dollar value, as evidenced by a 26% rise in the average number of items per order; an increase of nearly 41% in the average dollar value of those orders; and a whopping drop of almost 49% in order sessions.


• Health and Beauty retailers continued to show signs of the "little luxuries" effect where consumers in a down economy indulge in inexpensive purchases. Online retailers in this sector reported a 5% jump in browser sessions and a near-22% increase in the average number of items per order. However, the average order value decreased by nearly 5%.

The complete Coremetrics January 2009 Benchmark Report is available in PDF on request.