The weather will turn colder this weekend and the last of the Halloween candy has been marked 50 percent off.

But according to the latest study from the Traverse City online marketing firm Oneupweb, this doesn’t signal a drop-off in sales, but rather the beginning of the online holiday shopping season. And it’s a season that won’t end until after Dec. 25.

“We found that while consumers begin their holiday shopping around Halloween, sales actually hit their peak in 2007 one week before Christmas,” said Oneupweb Founder and CEO Lisa Wehr. “This late-season peak could be more prominent in 2008 due to the recent economic downturn, making it even more important that e-commerce retailers be ready for the long haul.”

Oneupweb compiled data from e-commerce companies covering apparel, jewelry, athletic equipment, home décor, gifts and more to determine when consumers really start their holiday shopping, when they are most likely to make a purchase and when the most important time to reach them is. The result is their new study entitled 2007 Holiday Online Retail Buying Trends. The study encompasses the actions of more than 1 million unique consumers and reveals some important information:

Holiday traffic and conversions start well before Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Traffic close to the holidays is most likely to lead to a purchase. The week of Dec. 10-16 experienced the highest amount of traffic, but isn’t the highest sales week.

“What this information reaffirms is that the online landscape changes rapidly according to economic sentiment and current events,” explains Wehr. “Those retailers that will be successful in 2008 will be pro-active, starting their online marketing campaigns early and following through with time-sensitive sales and continuous communication such as e-mail and social media marketing.”

The complete study can be found at http://www.oneupweb.com/landing/08_holidaytrends/index.php?source=PR_07buyingtrends_08.