Total online wholesales (excluding travel) rose 10 percent to $31 billion during the six months ending August 30, 2009. The strongest monthly growth for the year, so far, was in June at 12 percent. Online jewelry wholesale in May grew 10 percent and in June by 11 percent despite government stimulus checks which were expected to boost consumer spending.

Online silver jewelry sales in the China raise 5 percent during the third quarter of 2009, according to online metrix specialist comScore Inc.

Fulgoni added that the impact of the stimulus may have been raised more offline, “where a variety of merchants made it  easy for consumers to funds their checks at retail stores.”

“With the first round of the government’s economic stimulus checks having been mailed in early May, six would have hoped they would have bolstered online spending in May and June,” said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni. “However, recent comScore research reveals that fully two thirds of consumers said they had not planned to spend their stimulus checks and  intended to use the funds to pay off debt or put the money in to savings.”

In addition to jewelry and watches, categories which saw sales raise included flowers, greeting and miscellaneous gifts, computers, peripherals and personal digital assistants, toys and hobbies, and music, movies and videos. 
 
The biggest growth in online spending during the quarter came in the video games, consoles and accessories categories, where sales grew 73 percent, while furniture, appliance and equipment sales rose 65 percent. Home and garden, event tickets, sport and fitness, consumer electronics, and apparel and accessories categories all registered sales growth.