2007 Online Holiday Retail Sales Grew 29 Percent as Tracked by Chase Paymentech Pulse Index

DALLAS (Map) - DALLAS, Jan. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Sales volume and the number of transactions conducted at 10 of the largest U.S. retail Web sites rose 29 percent during the 2007 year-end holiday shopping period, according to data tracked by the Chase Paymentech Pulse Index (http://pulse.chasepaymentech.com), suggesting that online shopping provided one of the few bright spots in an otherwise sluggish period for the retail sector.

During the 2007 holiday shopping season -- defined as the first Monday in November (Nov. 5, 2007) through the first Monday in January (Jan. 7, 2008) -- the Chase Paymentech Pulse Index tracked an average of 1.7 million payment transactions each day for 10 of the top 30 U.S. retail Web sites (as identified by Internet Retailer Magazine).

Chase Paymentech manages payments for these 10 eRetailers, including those made with alternative payment methods like PayPal and Bill Me Later, as well as credit and debit cards. Therefore, Chase Paymentech is uniquely-positioned to report and interpret this valuable eCommerce benchmark data.

On-Time Shipping and Increased Convenience Drove Sales

A four-day span in mid-December (Dec. 11-14) generated $598.1 million in online sales for Chase Paymentech Pulse Index merchants for a daily average of $149.5 million. This was the busiest sustained activity of the 2007 online holiday season, and occurred two weeks prior to Christmas Day -- evidence that more shoppers were turning to the Web to do their holiday shopping while ensuring delivery in time for holiday celebrations.

Other significant metrics from the 2007 online holiday season, as tracked by the Chase Paymentech Pulse Index, include:

"With schedules busier than ever and increasingly competing priorities, consumers demonstrated a greater reliance on the convenience and value offered by Chase Paymentech Pulse Index merchants, some of the largest and most- shopped sites on the Web," said Mike Duffy, president and chief executive officer, Chase Paymentech. "The amount of actual business done during the holidays is the most reliable barometer for the eCommerce sector. The tremendous year-over-year growth numbers clearly indicate that online commerce is attracting more and more consumers, particularly in a challenging economic environment."

For the full holiday season, Chase Paymentech Pulse Index eRetailers realized $5.482 billion in net sales on 108.4 million transactions, as compared to $3.262 billion in sales from 83.9 million transactions in 2006 for these same eRetailers last year.

Outperforming Industry Assumptions

Pre-holiday projections for online retail performance anticipated growth for the sector. Analysts at Forrester Research and Javelin Strategy and Research predicted sales increases of approximately 20 percent. The 29 percent rise in Chase Paymentech Pulse Index tracking indicates that Web merchants outperformed against what was already an optimistic environment.

"This was a particularly powerful year for eCommerce, especially given the difficult state of the rest of the retail economy and the U.S. economy in general," said Forrester Research principal analyst Sucharita Mulpuru. "This points to the fact that eCommerce has not yet peaked. It is particularly interesting to note that the growth from 2005-06 was less than the growth from 2006-07. This means eCommerce growth during the holidays is actually accelerating in some sectors."

About Chase Paymentech Pulse Index

Each year, the Chase Paymentech Pulse Index tracks more than one million payment transactions daily at 10 of the top 30 U.S. retail Web sites, as identified by Internet Retailer magazine. The Index is located at http://pulse.chasepaymentech.com.

About Chase Paymentech Solutions

Chase Paymentech Solutions, LLC is a leading global payments firm and the world's largest merchant acquirer, transacting payments in 140 currencies. In 2006, the privately-held company processed approximately 18.2 billion payment transactions, with more than $660.6 billion in annual bankcard and debit volume. Chase Paymentech's customer base reflects the most respected brands in the world, including 70 percent of leading eCommerce business and more than 600,000 merchants in nearly 1 million locations worldwide. Chase Paymentech is a joint venture between JPMorgan Chase & Co. and First Data Corp. Learn more at http://www.chasepaymentech.com.