US online holiday spending approaches US$20 billion

For the holiday season-to-date, nearly US$20 billion has been spent online, marking a 15% increase versus the corresponding days last year. The most recent week saw three individual days eclipse US$1 billion in spending, led by Cyber Monday, which became the heaviest online spending day on record at US$1.25 billion. Tuesday, 29 November reached US$1.12 billion, while Wednesday, 30 November reached US$1.03 billion. Growth softened somewhat during the latter part of the workweek, but strengthened over the weekend (Dec. 3-4) to 17%.

*Corresponding days based on corresponding shopping days (2 November through 5 December 2010)

"This most recent week of online holiday shopping, known as 'Cyber Week,' reached record spending levels as three individual days surpassed the billion dollar threshold," said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni. "We are now entering the portion of the season when online retailers typically reduce their promotional activity as they attempt to restore their margins, which can sometimes contribute to temporary softness in spending growth rates. However, this will likely be immediately followed with an acceleration in the spending rate as we approach the middle of December, which is sure to bring us several more billion dollar online spending days."

Holiday season gains driven by increased spending per buyer in mid and upper income segments

comScore analysed consumer spending patterns for the holiday season-to-date to understand which particular factors are driving the strong growth rates of 15%. The strongest overall spending gains have been driven by the mid-income segment (households earning US$50 000-US$99 999) at 19%, while spending among upper-income households (US$100 000 and higher) is growing at a rate of 16%. Lower-income households (Under US$50 000) are seeing a more modest increase of 9%.

In a departure from the past couple of years when the growth in number of buyers was the predominant driver of online spending growth, the majority of this year's gains are being driven by an increase in spending per buyer. In fact, the number of buyers overall has increased just 3% compared to a 12% increase in dollars per buyer.

Analysis of the trends by household income revealed some differences by income segment. While mid- and upper-income households' spending growth has been predominantly driven by an increase in dollars per buyer, lower income households' spending rates have remained essentially flat while showing an increase in the number of buyers.

"We have seen some indications that mid-income Americans might be experiencing 'austerity fatigue,'" added Fulgoni. "After spending the last couple of years increasing their personal savings in an effort to get their finances in order, some appear to have decided they are done pinching pennies and are increasing their spending by taking advantage of the many promotions and price discounts that online retailers have been offering in the first half of the holiday shopping season. The appeal of lower prices that can be found on the Internet is also undoubtedly a driver of the acceleration of the shift from in-store buying to e-commerce that we are witnessing among all income segments this season."

Weekly Online Holiday Retail Sales

click to enlarge