Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) -- The growth of U.S. Internet sales slowed to 18 percent this holiday season from the year-ago period as consumers limited spending because of declining home values and higher gasoline prices.

Online spending from Nov. 1 through Dec. 14 was $22.7 billion, Reston, Virginia-based ComScore Inc. said today in a statement. Web sales in November and December may advance only 20 percent, a record low for the industry, and slower than the 26 percent gain made last year.

U.S. retailers may see the worst holiday sales growth since 2002. Customers, grappling with $3-a-gallon gasoline and the first drop in the median home price since the Great Depression, have reduced purchases. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Toys ``R'' Us Inc. offered discounts of 50 percent or more and free shipping on Web purchases to attract shoppers.

``The slowdown in online sales growth is a direct result of the difficult economic situation,'' said Larry Freed, chief executive officer of ForeSee Results, an online research firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. ``The discounting has become more aggressive than last year.''

Feeling the Pinch

Web sales have increased 17 percent since Nov. 1 among those earning $50,000 to $100,000 and 28 percent among consumers with incomes of more than $100,000, according to an analysis by ComScore. Consumers earning less than $50,000 have spent 10 percent more on online shopping than in 2006, dragging down overall results, ComScore said.

``Many consumers across all income segments are either feeling the pinch this holiday season or are lacking the confidence to spend at the rate they had in the past,'' ComScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni said in the statement. ``Consumers in lower income segments appear to be the most affected, as evidenced by the sluggish growth in their rate of online spending.''

U.S. retailers' shares have dropped during the holiday season, with the Standard & Poor's 500 Retailing Index falling 11 percent since the start of November, compared with a 5.3 percent decline on the S&P 500.

`Green Monday'

Amazon.com Inc., the world's largest online retailer, fell $3.32, or 3.6 percent, to $89.08 on Dec. 14 in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading. EBay Inc., the largest global auctioneer, dropped $1.39, or 4.1 percent, to $32.70.

A record $881 million was spent Dec. 10, known as ``Green Monday,'' and was the heaviest Web spending day on record, ComScore said. The remainder of the week saw more ``modest spending,'' Fulgoni said in the statement. Tomorrow may be the biggest online sales day of the 2007 holiday season because most retailers end free shipping on Dec. 17 or 18, said Freed.

Toys ``R'' Us, the biggest U.S. toy chain, was offering free shipping on select orders of $49.99 or more through tomorrow. The Wayne, New Jersey-based retailer was also advertising $20 off of toy purchases of $100 or more through EBay's PayPal.

Macy's Inc., the second-largest U.S. department-store chain, is offering free shipping through tomorrow on purchases of $99 or more on select items. Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, on Dec. 14 was offering 97-cent-shipping on a $578 Toshiba laptop computer and a $243.34 Garmin GPS system.

Running Late

In-store sales fell 2.7 percent in the seven days through Dec. 8, following a 4.4 percent decline a week earlier, Chicago- based research firm ShopperTrak RCT Corp. said last week. About 12 percent fewer shoppers visited stores last week, compared with the same period a year ago, ShopperTrak said.

Consumers are completing their holiday shopping later than usual, and they're trimming purchases because of higher food and energy costs. The National Retail Federation in Washington forecast a 4 percent increase in holiday sales this year, the smallest since 2002.

Toys ``R'' Us sales did well the weekend after Thanksgiving, and have been ``erratic'' since, Chief Executive Officer Gerald Storch said in a Dec. 13 interview. Sales on Dec. 22, the Saturday before Christmas, may rival Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, Storch said.

``We're being more aggressive with promotions but we're not discounting closer to the cost of the product than we did in past years,'' said Storch. ``We have a very aggressive promotional schedule between now and Christmas.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Heather Burke in New York at hburke2@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: December 16, 2007 17:49 EST