Cyber Monday Sales Tracking Up 6 PercentNovember 30, 2009
 RESTON and ARLINGTON, VA.: Online spending by
holiday shoppers today is on track to exceed $900 million, up 6 percent from
last year according to ComScore. Online spending for the first 27 days of
November reached $10.57 billion, up 3 percent from the same period last year.
Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, generated $595 million in online
sales, the second heaviest online spending date of the year and 11 percent up
from last year, ComScore said. The estimate for today, dubbed “Cyber Monday,”
was derived from trending leading up to it.
“Cyber Monday--the traditional kick-off to the online holiday shopping
season--and the subsequent weeks will be the real test for how online retailers
fare this season. That said, this is a very encouraging start,” ComScore
Chairman Gian Fulgoni said of Black Friday. “The $595 million in online spending this
Black Friday represents the second heaviest online spending day of the
season-to-date and a double-digit increase from last year. While this
acceleration in spending suggests the online holiday season may be shaping up
slightly more optimistically than anticipated, it may also reflect the heavy
discounting and creative promotions being put forth by retailers that now
encompass the use of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.”
Five retail sites had more than 4 million unique visitors on Black Friday, each
of them with gains over last year. Amazon sites represented the most visited
retail property on Black Friday, up 28 percent from last year, followed by Walmart, which grew 22 percent. Apple
sites were up 39 percent; Target traffic
increased 2 percent and Best Buy was up 24 percent.
The Consumer Electronics Association also monitored shopping over the holiday
weekend.
“This weekend’s shopping patterns proved consistent with CEA’s earlier
predictions of volume growth of six percent this holiday, compared with a
significant decline in consumer spending last year,” the CEA said.
CEA chief Gary Shapiro said results from the weekend suggested consumer
technology “will lead economic recovery in 2010.”
(Image by J. Pellgan)
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