Cyber Monday experienced $846 million in online spending, making it the second highest online spending day recorded, a 15% increase, in online retail sales over last year according to comScore.
The gain is attributed to a 22% increase in the number of buyers, while the average dollars spent per buyer declined by 5 % versus a year ago. comScore reports that online retail sales from Nov. 1 to Dec. 1 were down 2% from a year ago, despite a 13% increase during the four-day period from Black Friday to Cyber Monday.
The proportion of time that consumers spent on e-commerce sites hit an all-time low in October at 12.8% (Online Publishers Association).
Consumers will continue to shift their gift buying online this holiday season, citing convenience, time constraints, and price among the primary reasons for shopping on the web, according to a Nielsen Online pre-holiday survey.
In Europe, comScore reports that in both the U.K. and Germany, the Christmas shopping season appears to be well underway, with visitation to online retail sites up 10% and 11% respectively in November compared to the base period average. Christmas shopping in France traditionally begins a bit later in the year and the 2008 season is no exception, with French retail site visitor growth up just 6% through the final week of November.
