US e-Christmas boom as online spend hits $22bn

For the first 40 days of the November ‚ December 2010 holiday season, more than $21.95 billion has been spent online, marking a 12-percent increase versus the corresponding days last year. The most recent week (ending Dec. 10) reached $5.15 billion in spending, an increase of 11 percent versus the corresponding week last year, as two individual days each surpassed $900 million.

comScore, has reported holiday season retail e-commerce spending for the first 40 days of the November ‚ December 2010 holiday season.

For the holiday season-to-date, more than $21.95 billion has been spent online, marking a 12-percent increase versus the corresponding days last year. The most recent week (week ending Dec. 10) reached $5.15 billion in spending, an increase of 11 percent versus the corresponding week last year, as two individual days each surpassed $900 million.

_________________________________________________________________________ 2010 Holiday Season To Date vs. Corresponding Days* in 2009 Non-Travel (Retail) Spending Excludes Auctions and Large Corporate Purchases Total U.S. ‚ Home/Work/University Locations Source: comScore, Inc. . Millions ($) 2009 2010 Percent Change November 1 ‚ December 10 $19,685 $21,951 12% Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 25) $318 $407 28% Black Friday (Nov. 26) $595 $648 9% Cyber Monday (Nov. 29) $887 $1,028 16% Week Ending Dec. 10 (Dec. 4-10) $4,644 $5,149 11% _________________________________________________________________________ *Corresponding days based on corresponding shopping days (November 2 thru December 11, 2009)

‚Growth rates during the most recent week settled in at around 11 percent, which is consistent with our forecasted spending growth rate for the holiday season,‚ said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni. ‚With more than $5 billion in spending this past week, it’s clear that while deal-seeking shoppers may have driven stronger than anticipated spending early in the season, Americans continue to demonstrate a significantly greater willingness to spend online this year than in seasons past. This coming week, beginning with Green Monday, should see some of the heaviest online shopping activity of the season and we expect at least one more day to surpass the billion dollar spending threshold.‚

‚Green Monday‚ Leads the Way for Online Holiday Shopping In 2007, eBay coined the term ‚Green Monday‚ to describe the Monday occurring around the second week of December, which has tended to be the heaviest (or among the heaviest) online spending days of the year. An analysis of the past five holiday shopping seasons reveals that ‚Green Monday‚ has had very high spending levels each year, ranking as the top spending day of the season on two occasions (2005 and 2007), and the second heaviest spending day on two other occasions (2006 and 2008). In 2009, ‚Green Monday‚ was only the fifth heaviest day of the season, with the following Tuesday, December 15 ranking as the heaviest with $913 in spending.

____________________________________________________________ ‚Green Monday‚ U.S. Online Spending: 2005-2009 Non-Travel (Retail) Spending Excludes Auctions and Large Corporate Purchases Total U.S. ‚ Home/Work/University Locations Source: comScore, Inc. . Year Date Spending Rank for Season 2005 Monday, December 12 $556 1 2006 Monday, December 11 $661 2 2007 Monday, December 10 $881 1 2008 Monday, December 15 $859 2 2009 Monday, December 14 $854 5 ____________________________________________________________

‚We anticipate that Green Monday this year will be another strong day for online buying, leading off what will be the heaviest spending week of the season,‚ added Mr. Fulgoni. ‚However, with Free Shipping Day occurring on Friday, December 17, it is likely that buying will get distributed more evenly across the week rather than concentrated so heavily in the early days of the week. As a result, several days in the upcoming week are candidates to the heaviest online spending day of the year. It’s also apparent that as consumers become more confident in the reliability of expedited shipping that they are willing to buy online later in the season‚

Ten Heaviest Online Spending Days on Record Since comScore began tracking e-commerce spending in 2001, it has witnessed five individual shopping days eclipse $900 million in spending. To date, Cyber Monday 2010 (Nov. 29) is the only billion dollar spending day on record, followed by Monday, December 6, 2010 with $943 million and Tuesday, December 15, 2009 with $913 million. Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2010 ($911 million) and Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2010 ($901 million) round out the top five. Of the ten heaviest online spending days on record, most have occurred during the early part of the work week with four occurring on Mondays, three on Tuesdays, and two on Wednesdays.

_____________________________________________________________________________ Ten Heaviest U.S. Online Retail Spending Days on Record (thru Dec. 11, 2009) Non-Travel (Retail) Spending Excludes Auctions and Large Corporate Purchases Total U.S. ‚ Home/Work/University Locations Source: comScore, Inc. . Date Spending in Millions ($) 1 Monday, Nov. 29, 2010 (Cyber Monday) $1,028 2 Monday, Dec. 6, 2010 $943 3 Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2009 $913 4 Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2010 $911 5 Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2010 $901 6 Thursday, Dec. 9, 2010 $898 7 Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2008 $887 8 Monday, Nov. 30, 2009 (Cyber Monday) $887 9 Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009 $886 10 Monday, Dec. 10, 2007 (Green Monday) $881 _____________________________________________________________________________