Nielsen//Netratings analyed how holiday spending patterns changed throughout the past 4 years. In 2002 just 16% of holiday spending went towards online stores, while in 2005 holiday season online merchants attracted 27% of all spending.
| Distribution of holiday spending | |||||
| Outlet | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | Growth, 2002-2005 |
| Stores | 68% | 72% | 74% | 78% | -10% |
| Catalogs | 5% | 6% | 6% | 6% | -1% |
| Online | 27% | 22% | 20% | 16% | 11% |
| Source: Nielsen//NetRatings | |||||