Online shopping is making over $800 million a day this Christmas
Record numbers of consumers are spending money online this Christmas, with three individual days racking up more than $800 million each, according to a new report from comScore.
The report found that around $15.3 billion has been spent online during the first 34-day period of the November and December holiday season, which is a 4% increase on the same period last year.
Last week saw three separate days make more than $800 million in spending. Over $887 million was spent on “Cyber” Monday, which matches the heaviest online spending day on record.
Gian Fulgoni, comScore’s chairman said: “Cyber Monday, which kicked off the most recent work week matching an all-time spending record with $887 million in spending, was followed by several other strong online spending days helping to accelerate the growth rate for the season-to-date to 4 percent.
“Two categories that have been contributing strongly to this growth are consumer electronics and computer hardware, both achieving growth rates well into the double-digits so far, with e-readers, GPS devices, digital cameras, flat-panel TVs and laptops among the most popular sellers.
“We have now passed the halfway point of the season with the 4 percent growth in online spending to date slightly exceeding comScore’s forecast of an overall 3 percent growth rate for the entire season.
“It will be interesting to see if the encouraging growth continues as we head into the busiest days of the season. Nonetheless, I do expect that we will see the industry’s first $900 million online spending day during this next critical week of the season.”
comScore’s report also shows that online retailers are following a similar pattern to high street retailers. During the recession, larger retailers have often had a competitive advantage and have been able to offer lower prices while maintaining higher levels of ad spend.
Small to medium-sized companies, meanwhile, have been forced to cut back. comScore said “this dynamic seems to be playing out online this season”.
The company’s analysis of the top 25 online retailers shows a sales growth rate of 13% through November, while smaller retailers have suffered a 10% year on year decline.
comScore found that the larger retailers accounted for around 64% of all dollars spent during the period – up 6% on last year.
“It’s pretty clear that the larger, established retailers have an overall competitive advantage during a recession,” Fulgoni added. “Not only are they better equipped to meet the price demands of cash-strapped consumers, but they are also able to maintain their marketing investments and gain consumer mindshare.”