Cyber Monday Spending Hits $1.25 Billion to Rank as Heaviest U.S. Online Spending Day in History

RESTON, Va., Nov. 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- comScore (NASDAQ : SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today 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.

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*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 Mr. 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."

Weekly Online Holiday Retail Sales
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SOURCE comScore, Inc.