Cyber Monday spending hits US$1.25 billion, breaks record

30 Nov 2011

RESTON, US: comScore, a leader in measuring the digital world, has reported holiday season US retail e-commerce spending for the first 28 days of the November - December 2011 holiday season. For the holiday season-to-date, US$15 billion has been spent online, marking a 15% increase versus the corresponding days last year.

Cyber Monday reached US$1.25 billion in online spending, up 22% versus year ago, representing the heaviest online spending day in history and the second day on record to surpass the billion-dollar threshold.

2011 Holiday Season To Date vs. Corresponding Days* in 2010 Non-Travel (Retail) Spending Excludes Auctions and Large Corporate Purchases Total US - Home & Work Locations (Source: comScore, Inc)
	Millions (US$)
	2010	2011	Percent Change
November 1 - 28	US$13,008	US$15,020	15%
Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 24)	US$407	US$479	18%
Black Friday (Nov. 25)	US$648	US$816	26%
Weekend (Nov. 26-27)	US$886	US$1,031	16%
Cyber Monday (Nov. 28)	US$1,028	US$1,251	22%

*Corresponding days based on corresponding shopping days (2-29 November 2010)

"Cyber Monday was yet another historic day for e-commerce, with online spending reaching a record US$1.25 billion," said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni. "It was just the second billion dollar spending day on record, following on the heels of Cyber Monday 2010. While last year saw Cyber Monday rank as the heaviest online spending day of the year for the first time ever, it will be interesting to watch the next couple of weeks to see if any future individual days in 2011 manage to leapfrog this year's highest day-to-date."

Cyber Monday sales growth driven by both buyers and spending per buyer

Cyber Monday's 22% growth in sales versus year ago was driven by an increase in both the number of buyers (up 11%) and the average spending per buyer (up 9%). Overall, 10 million people bought online on Cyber Monday, representing the first time on record that threshold has been reached in a single day. The average online buyer conducted 1.9 online transactions on Cyber Monday for a total of nearly US$125 in spending.

Breakdown of Cyber Monday Spending Growth Cyber Monday 2011 vs. Cyber Monday 2010 Total US - Home & Work Locations (Source: comScore, Inc)
	Cyber Monday 2010	Cyber Monday 2011	Percent Change
Dollar Sales (US$ Millions)	US$1,028	US$1,251	22%
Buyers (Millions)	9.0	10.0	11%
Dollars per Buyer	US$114.24	US$124.82	9%
Dollars per Transaction	US$60.05	US$66.97	12%
Transactions (Millions)	17.1	18.7	9%
Transactions per Buyer	1.90	1.86	-2%

Shopping at work accounts for 50% of Cyber Monday spending

Half of dollars spent online at US Web sites originated from work computers, up slightly from last year. Buying from home comprised the majority of the remaining share (43.2%) while buying at US Web sites from international locations accounted for 6.6% of sales.

Breakdown of Cyber Monday Spending Growth by Location Cyber Monday 2011 vs. Cyber Monday 2010 Total US - Home & Work Locations (Source: comScore, Inc)
	Cyber Monday 2010	Cyber Monday 2011	Point Change
Home (incl. University)	45.0%	43.2%	-1.8
Work	49.2%	50.2%	+1.0
International	5.8%	6.6%	+0.8
Total	100.0%	100.0%	N/A

"The Cyber Monday phenomenon originated from the significant spike in e-commerce activity that traditionally occurred following the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, with many consumers turning to their work computers to continue their holiday gift buying - and that pattern still exists today," added Mr. Fulgoni. "Looking forward to the balance of the season, it will be very important to continue to monitor the trend in consumer spending to determine the degree to which retailers' heavy promotional activity at the beginning of the shopping season, and consumers' encouraging response, has pulled forward consumers' future buying. When all is said and done, it will also be vital to see whether retailers' deals and price discounting, which consumers are now able to discover via so many different digital media channels, will have a negative impact on retailers' margins this holiday season."

Weekly Online Holiday Retail Sales