Green Monday Witnesses $954 Million in U.S. Online Spending as Second Heaviest Day on Record

RESTON, Va., Dec. 14, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- comScore (Nasdaq: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today reported holiday season retail e-commerce spending for the first 43 days of the November – December 2010 holiday season. For the holiday season-to-date, more than $23.82 billion has been spent online, marking a 12-percent increase versus the corresponding days last year. The most recent week (week ending Dec. 12) reached $5.31 billion in spending, an increase of 12 percent versus the corresponding week last year. Monday, December 13, known as "Green Monday" (the second Monday in December when online spending has historically tended to peak), reached $954 million in spending, representing a 12-percent increase versus last year.

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"Green Monday represented another banner day for the 2010 holiday season with $954 million in spending, ranking as the second heaviest online spending day on record behind this year's Cyber Monday," said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni. "Green Monday kicks off what we expect will be the heaviest online shopping week of the season right up through 'Free Shipping Day' on Friday, December 17. In the past, Green Monday was more reliably the heaviest day of the season, but in recent years we have seen heavy spending days occur even later into the season as consumers continue to gain confidence in retailers and shippers being able to deliver their gifts in time for Christmas."

Two-Thirds of Consumers Still Haven't Finished their Holiday Shopping

As part of the comScore Holiday Shopping Survey, more than 500 consumers were asked about their holiday shopping for the season to date. When asked if they had already finished their holiday shopping, 35 percent of respondents indicated they had already purchased everything they intended to this season. Of the 65 percent who had not yet finished their shopping, 33 percent indicated their primary reason for not having finished yet was insufficient money available to purchase the gifts they wanted. 32 percent indicated they simply hadn't had enough time to finish shopping, while 11 percent said they were waiting to get better deals at the last minute and 6 percent said they enjoyed the thrill of last-minute shopping.

"The reasons consumers give for not having finished their holiday shopping reveal some very important dynamics driving the retail industry today," added Mr. Fulgoni. "The first is that we are offered a stark reminder that many consumers are still strapped for cash and may be waiting for their mid-December paychecks before they can finish their shopping. The second important point is that it's clear consumers have significant time constraints in their lives, which is one of the key drivers behind the continuing shift in retail dollars to the online medium, as the Internet enables people to shop for many gifts quickly and more efficiently, not to mention the cost savings that can be realized through e-commerce."

Weekly Online Holiday Retail Sales

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SOURCE comScore, Inc.