Shopping from Work Accounts for More than Half of Cyber Monday Spending
RESTON, VA, December 2, 2009 – Comscore (NASDAQ : SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today reported holiday season retail e-commerce spending for the first 30 days of the November – December 2009 holiday season. For the holiday season-to-date, $12.26 billion has been spent online, marking a 3-percent increase versus the corresponding days last year. Cyber Monday reached $887 million in online spending, up 5 percent versus year ago, and matching the heaviest online spending day on record, December 9, 2008.
2009 Holiday Season to Date vs. Corresponding Days* in 2008Non-Travel (Retail) SpendingExcludes Auctions and Large Corporate PurchasesTotal U.S. – Home/Work/University LocationsSource: Comscore, Inc.
Millions ($)
2008
2009
Percent Change
November 1 – 30
$11,870
$12,262
3%
Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 26)
$288
$318
10%
Black Friday (Nov. 27)
$534
$595
11%
Weekend (Nov. 28-29)
$769
$805
5%
Cyber Monday (Nov. 30)
$834
$887
*Corresponding days based on corresponding shopping days (November 2 thru December 1, 2008)
“We’ve seen an encouraging start to the online holiday shopping season and it would appear that retailers’ aggressive and early marketing efforts have so far succeeded in persuading consumers to open their wallets online,” said Comscore chairman Gian Fulgoni. “Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday were atypically strong online sales days this year, and Cyber Monday has continued that trend by outperforming the season-to-date average growth rate and matching last year’s record day of $887 million in online spending. Now, it will be important to see if spending continues to grow over the balance of the season -- because the heaviest spending day online typically occurs in mid-December.”
Cyber Monday Sales Growth Driven by Increase in Buyers
Cyber Monday’s 5-percent growth in sales versus year ago was driven primarily by an increase in the number of buyers, reflecting consumers' increasing familiarity and comfort with online buying, while average spending per buyer was down slightly, presumably a result of economic constraints. Specifically, the number of online buyers grew 6 percent to 8.7 million, while the average dollars spent per buyer declined 2 percent to $102.19.
Cyber Monday Spending Growth BreakdownCyber Monday 2009 vs. Cyber Monday 2008Total U.S. – Home/Work/University LocationsSource: Comscore, Inc.
Cyber Monday 2008
Cyber Monday 2009
Dollar Sales ($ Millions)
$846
Buyers (Millions)
8.2
8.7
6%
Dollars per buyer
$103.72
$102.19
-1%
Buying at Work Continues to Drive Cyber Monday Sales
On Cyber Monday this year, more than half of dollars spent online at U.S. Web sites originated from work computers (52.7 percent), representing a gain of 2.3 percentage points from last year. Buying from home comprised the majority of the remaining share (41.6 percent) while buying from international locations accounted for 5.8 percent.
Point Change
Home (incl. University)
42.5%
41.6%
-0.9
Work
50.4%
52.7%
2.3
International
7.1%
5.8%
-1.3
Total
100.0%
N/A
“Comscore data have shown that Cyber Monday online sales have always been driven by considerable buying activity from work locations,” added Mr. Fulgoni. “That pattern hasn’t changed. After returning from the long Thanksgiving weekend with a lot of holiday shopping still ahead of them, many consumers tend to continue their holiday shopping from work. Whether to take advantage of the extensive Cyber Monday deals offered by retailers or to buy gifts away from the prying eyes of family members, this day has become an annual ritual for America’s online holiday shoppers.”
About ComscoreComscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital marketing intelligence. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/companyinfo.
PressBill DaddiDaddi Brand Communications646-370-1341press@comscore.com