'Green Monday’ Third-Highest Online Spending Day
RESTON, Va. -- U.S. retail e-commerce spending from desktop computers for the first 39 days of the November and December holiday season teached $31.5 million, a 9% increase over the corresponding period last year, comScore reports.
The so-called "Green Monday," Dec. 9, saw $1.4 million, spent, up 10% and the third-heaviest online spending day of the holiday season to date.
Thanksgiving Day fell six days later this year than last, however, causing more heavy spending days to fall in the year-ago period, thereby diluting growth rates at this point, according to comScore. For example, that would mean a 25% increase if using the alternate comparison of the four-week period preceding Thanksgiving.
Cyber Week, the week beginning with Cyber Monday (the Monday after Thanksgiving), posted strong growth online, raking in $8 billion in spending for an increase of 24% compared to the same week last year. The Saturday and Sunday following Cyber Monday saw $1.7 billion in spending via desktop computers, up a robust 71% versus last year. Also noteworthy is that Cyber Week fell just $16 million shy Dec. 6 of boasting $5 billion days during the work week. For the period from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Week, online buying from desktop computers increased a very strong 24%.
"Online buying for the period since Thanksgiving has been very strong and indicates that e-commerce is on track to meet expectations," said Gian Fulgoni, comScore chairman, in a prepared statement. "While Green Monday saw a strong desktop spending total of $1.4 billion, its 10% year-over-year growth rate might at first seem somewhat underwhelming given the growth rates we've seen for other important days this season.
"However, there is an interesting emerging storyline that helps speak to what's happening during this year's [unusual] holiday season," Fulgoni continued. "It would appear that the abbreviated calendar between Thanksgiving and Christmas is compelling shoppers to complete more of their online buying during the weekends – with this most recent weekend boasting an exceptional 71% gain from last year, following on the heels of last weekend's 34% jump. The weekend is typically a lighter period of online buying than during workdays, but the weekend surges we're seeing may be attributable to the effects of showrooming, with the in-store shopping experience increasingly getting disrupted by comparison shopping on mobile phones, leading to more conversions online after leaving the store. Of course, it's also likely that many consumers realize the holiday spending clock is ticking and are urgently buying their gifts whenever they have time. And that, in turn, works to the benefit of e-commerce."
Copyright 2013 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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