Some had said Cyber Monday was slipping out of its place as a prime shopping event, but the day brought in record-breaking sales, making it the biggest online spending day ever.
According to digital measurement and analytics firm comScore, sales on Cyber Monday reached $2.038 billion in desktop online spending, a 17 percent increase from last year. For the five-day period from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, online buying totaled $6.6 billion, a 24 percent increase over 2013.
“Any notion that Cyber Monday is declining in importance is really unfounded, as it continues to post new historical highs and reflects the ongoing strength of online this holiday season,” comScore chairman emeritus Gian Fulgoni said. “Varying reports have also indicated weakness in the consumer economy due to flagging brick-and-mortar sales over the holiday weekend, but what we may really be seeing is an accelerating shift to online buying as mobile phones spur increased showrooming activity. The data we’re seeing suggest it may be more a change in shopping behavior than a lack of consumer demand.”
The news should be a boon for retailers following the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) estimation that spending over the shopping weekend fell by 11 percent.
But sales over the weekend were also up. Turkey Day e-spend came in just under $1 billion, up 32 percent over last year, Black Friday brought in $1.5 billion, a 26 percent increase, and Saturday and Sunday saw sales totaling $2.012 billion, also 26 percent growth.
After tracking e-commerce spending for the first 31 days of the November/December holiday season, comScore reported that $26.7 billion has already been spent online, a 16 percent increase over the same period last year.
Fulgoni said, “With more than $2 billion in online buying on Cyber Monday to cap an exceptionally strong 5-day period since Thanksgiving, the online holiday shopping season is clearly going very well at the moment and is currently running ahead of forecast.”