Retail Ad spends increases, while sales growth plunges.

SearchIgnite released data showing that the search ad spend for retailers had rose up to 33% so far in Q4 ’08. With the holidays looming, retailers are increasing their spending on online advertising to capture more consumers’ attention and drive revenue.     

However, consumers are spending lesser per transaction. Results from eMarketer shown that e-commerce sales grew only 4.6%, compared with last year’s 19.8% growth rate. 

With the weak economy pressurizing e-commerce sales this holiday season, people are getting more frugal. However, despite the financial downturn, good news is that they are still spending online at a steady rate of growth.