Online Jewelry Sales Up 19% in October

Jewelry and watches sales by U.S. e-commerce sites rose 19 percent in October compared to the year before, remaining one of the hottest online retail categories. This growth outpaced total online retail sales, which grew 14 percent to $16.476 billion.

According to comScore, non-travel U.S. e-commerce spending figures for October 2007 show that retail e-commerce increased 19 percent versus year ago to nearly $10 billion.

The October growth rate marked a slight decline from the growth rates observed earlier in the year, comScore noted. In particular, retail e-commerce sales year-to-date through September grew at approximately 21 percent, meaning that the 19-percent growth in October represented a slightly softer-than-average month.

Online spending on jewelry and watches rose 21 percent in the third quarter.

The video games, consoles & accessories category posted the strongest gains, jumping 264 percent, driven by strong sales of Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation consoles and accessories. Furniture, appliances & equipment also experienced a strong month, growing 105 percent, followed by computer software (up 76 percent) and event tickets (up 43 percent).