Consumers showed no indication that they were letting up on online purchases on Cyber Monday despite having already spent a record $59.1 billion over the four-day Thanksgiving Day weekend.
Online shopping activity was up 28.4 percent yesterday compared to Cyber Monday in 2011, according to IBM Smarter Commerce. Sales made via smartphones and tablets collectively rose just over 10 percent.
Heading into the sales day, comScore predicted sales would reach $1.5 billion, a 20 percent increase over last year. Separately, a survey conducted for Shop.org by BIGinsight, predicted over 129 million Americans planned to shop on Cyber Monday, up from 122.8 million last year and 106.9 in 2010.
"Online's piece of the holiday pie is growing every day, and all the key dates are growing with it," Forrester Research analyst Sucharita Mulpuru told The Associated Press. "The web is becoming a more significant part of the traditional brick-and-mortar holiday shopping season."
One interesting aspect of the increase in online sales this holiday season is that the jump is taking place despite many consumers having to pay sales tax on purchases for the first time.
"It doesn't look like they're having a lot of negative impact," said Dale Achabal, executive director of Santa Clara University's Retail Management Institute, told the San Jose Mercury News. "What we're seeing is a shift in the way consumers are shopping, with a greater use of online for a significant percentage of their holiday purchases."
While consumers may be shopping online, a significant number are spending their money on brick & mortar chain sites. Experian Marketing Services announced that while Amazon.com was the most visited website on Black Friday, it was followed by Walmart, Best Buy, Target and J.C. Penney.
- Cyber Monday sales up more than 28 percent - San Jose Mercury News
- More Shoppers Than Ever To Make The Most Of Cyber Monday Deals, According To Shop.Org Survey - National Retail Federation
- Cyber Monday likely to be busiest online sales day - The Associated Press/Google
- Amazon.com had the top retail traffic on Black Friday, but the next four were brick-and-mortar chain websites including Plano-based J.C. Penney - The Dallas Morning News