Cyber Monday Sales Match Record - Update
Consumer spending and traffic levels went up on “Cyber Monday” compared to 2008, according to third-party research results. Consumers’ interest in shopping online appeared to carry over from “Black Friday” last week, when e-commerce sales increased at a significantly higher rate than brick-and-mortar sales.
There is some significant disagreement among different data sources as to precisely how much better Cyber Monday’s performance was in 2009 compared to 2008, how many Americans actually shopped online, and where online shopping was performed, but all sources agree notable improvement was made.
comScore Reports Record-tying Cyber Monday Sales Total
Today, comScore reported that e-commerce sales on Cyber Monday, November 30, 2009, totaled $887 million. This represents a 5% increase from $834 million in 2008 Cyber Monday online spending on Monday, November 24, 2008. According to comScore, $887 million matches the highest single-day e-commerce spending total previously recorded, on Tuesday, December 9, 2008.
In addition, comScore reported a total of 8.7 million online buyers for Cyber Monday this year, up 6% from 8.2 million this year. However, dollars spent per buyer dropped 1%, from $103.72 to $102.19.
In terms of where Cyber Monday purchases originated from, comScore said 52.7% came from work computers, up from 50.4% last year. Home computers (including university campuses) accounted for 41.6%, down from 42.5% last year. International computers produced the remaining 5.8% of Cyber Monday online purchases, down from 7.1% last year.
In general, comScore data shows that online holiday sales have been strong this year compared to last year. During the entire month of November, online sales grew 3%, from $11.87 billion to $12.26 billion. Thanksgiving Day online sales (November 26) rose 10%, from $288 million to $318 million, while Black Friday online sales (November 27) rose 11%, from $534 million to $595 million. For the weekend of November 28-29, online sales climbed 5%, from $769 million to $805 million, compared to the equivalent weekend after Thanksgiving in 2008.
Coremetrics Shows Increase in Average Dollar Amount
According to the Coremetrics Benchmark Cyber Monday 2009 report [pdf], e-commerce sales were 13.7% higher on Cyber Monday this year than they were last year. Coremetrics did not report specific dollar totals.
In a significant departure from comScore’s findings, Coremetrics reported the average dollar amount spent by consumers per online order rose 38.2%, from $130.24 to $180.03. Apparel retailers and jewelry retailers drove this increase with 26.4% and 14.3% jumps in average dollar amount spent per online order, respectively. In the sporting goods segment, retailers reported a nearly 55% increase in new site visitors, but a 3.1% decline in average dollar amount spent per online order. Similarly, department store retailers reported a 33% increase in new site visitors, but a nearly 10% decrease in the average value of each online order. Per order, consumers purchased 30% more items this year than they did last year.
NRF Says Customer Traffic also Rises, Shifts
According to a survey performed by BIGResearch for the Shop.org digital retail division of the National Retail Federation (NRF), 96.5 million Americans planned to shop on Cyber Monday this year, up 13.5% from 85 million in 2008. This number differs significantly from the 8.7 million reported by comScore. Shop.org research also indicated that 87.1% of online retailers offered a Cyber Monday special promotion, up from 83.7% in 2008 and 72.2% in 2007.
In addition, Shop.org research suggests 41.5% of consumers making a purchase on Cyber Monday were planning to shop early in the morning, and another 32.9% of Cyber Monday shoppers planned to shop in the early evening, with 22.7% planning to shop in the late evening. The shift in spending coincides with a decline in people shopping from the office. In one other major difference from comScore’s findings, the Shop.org survey indicates 91.5% of Cyber Monday shoppers planned to shop from home on Cyber Monday while just 13.5 percent planned to shop from work.
E-commerce Strength May Continue through Holiday Season
Several recent pieces of research suggest e-commerce will be a bright spot for holiday sales in 2009. According to the November 2009 American Express Spending and Saving Tracker, the internet will be a popular resource for holiday shoppers this year. Seventy-nine percent of overall respondents plan to use the internet as a tool for holiday shopping, 45% plan to purchase items online, 28% will use the internet to buy hard-to-find items, 27% will use the internet for product research, and 25% will go online for gift ideas.
The 2009 Holiday Forecast from comparison shopping site PriceGrabber.com corroborates these findings. PriceGrabber’s research indicates 70% of consumers plan to save money by performing research and comparison shopping online this year, compared to 38% last year. And according to the Deloitte 24th Annual Holiday Survey, 19% of consumers plan to access the internet via their mobile phones while shopping to find store locations, obtain coupons and sales information, as well as research products and prices. This percentage rose to 39% in the 18 to 29 age group