ComScore: Cyber Monday’s Revenues Ahead 22 Percent

ComScore reported holiday season U.S. retail e-commerce spending for the
first 28 days of the November – December 2011 holiday season. For the
holiday season-to-date, $15 billion has been spent online, marking a
15-percent increase versus the corresponding days last year. Cyber
Monday reached $1.25 billion in online spending, up 22 percent versus
year ago, representing the heaviest online spending day in history and
the second day on record to surpass the billion-dollar threshold.

*Corresponding days based on corresponding shopping days (November 2 thru November 29, 2010)

“Cyber
Monday was yet another historic day for e-commerce, with online
spending reaching a record $1.25 billion,” said comScore chairman Gian
Fulgoni. “It was just the second billion dollar spending day on record,
following on the heels of Cyber Monday 2010. While last year saw Cyber
Monday rank as the heaviest online spending day of the year for the
first time ever, it will be interesting to watch the next couple of
weeks to see if any future individual days in 2011 manage to leapfrog
this year�€�s highest day-to-date.”

Cyber Monday Sales Growth Driven by both Buyers and Spending per Buyer

Cyber
Monday�€�s 22-percent growth in sales versus year ago was driven by an
increase in both the number of buyers (up 11 percent) and the average
spending per buyer (up 9 percent). Overall, 10 million people bought
online on Cyber Monday, representing the first time on record that
threshold has been reached in a single day. The average online buyer
conducted 1.9 online transactions on Cyber Monday for a total of nearly
$125 in spending.

Shopping at Work Accounts for 50 Percent of Cyber Monday Spending

Half
of dollars spent online at U.S. Web sites originated from work
computers, up slightly from last year. Buying from home comprised the
majority of the remaining share (43.2 percent) while buying at U.S. Web
sites from international locations accounted for 6.6 percent of sales.

“The Cyber Monday phenomenon originated from the significant spike in
e-commerce activity that traditionally occurred following the
Thanksgiving holiday weekend, with many consumers turning to their work
computers to continue their holiday gift buying – and that pattern still
exists today,” added Fulgoni. “Looking forward to the balance of
the season, it will be very important to continue to monitor the trend
in consumer spending to determine the degree to which retailers�€� heavy
promotional activity at the beginning of the shopping season, and
consumers�€� encouraging response, has pulled forward consumers�€� future
buying. When all is said and done, it will also be vital to see whether
retailers�€� deals and price discounting, which consumers are now able to
discover via so many different digital media channels, will have a
negative impact on retailers�€� margins this holiday season.”