Historic US Cyber Monday: Over $3BN in total digital sales

Cristina Blanaru Business, e-Commerce

comScore reported holiday season U.S. retail e-commerce spending from desktop computers for the first 30 days of the November-December 2015 holiday season. For the holiday season-to-date, $27.9 billion has been spent online, up 6% compared to the same period last year.

Cyber Monday reached $2.28BN in desktop online spending (+12% compared to 2014), representing the heaviest online spending day in history and the first day of the 2015 season to surpass $2BN in sales. The weekend after Thanksgiving also reached a major milestone as it saw its first ever billion-dollar online shopping day on Sunday, while Saturday sales reached the $1BN mark for second year in a row. The two days combined posted particularly strong growth online, raking in $2.16BN (up 8% compared to the same weekend last year). For the five-day period – Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday – online buying from desktop computers totaled $7.20BN billion, up 10% versus last year.

  • Mobile Commerce Brings Total Cyber Monday Spend to More Than $3 Billion

Total digital spend on Cyber Monday, when inclusive of comScore’s preliminary mobile commerce estimates, reached $3.11BN, up 21% compared to $2.58BN spent on Cyber Monday 2014. This is the first time in history when total digital spend surpassed the $3BN milestone in a single day. Mobile commerce is estimated to have accounted for 27% of total digital commerce on Cyber Monday 2015, with $838M spent via smartphones and tablets.

  • Amazon, WalMart and eBay – top 3 online retailers on Cyber Monday

107.8 million Americans visited online retail properties on Cyber Monday using a desktop computer, smartphone or tablet, representing an increase of 23 percent versus year ago. Amazon ranked as the most visited online retail property on Cyber Monday, followed by Walmart, eBay, Target and Best Buy.

Cyber Monday maintained its reputation as the most important online spending day of year, exceeding $3 billion in total digital spending and once again becoming the heaviest online spending day of all-time (…) Despite some talk of Cyber Monday declining in importance, the day’s historical highs and continued strong growth rates confirm it is still a hugely important shopping event.

It comes as no surprise that Amazon led all online retail properties in Cyber Monday traffic, but several multi-channel retailers such Walmart and Target also had very strong showings. Although some web sites experienced unfortunate server problems on Cyber Monday that appear to have been caused by heavy mobile traffic, it’s not yet clear what the impact was for those retailers. What is clear is that the consumer economy is still healthy, and it’s looking optimistic that the success of Black Friday weekend and Cyber Monday will carry on throughout the rest of the season.

Gian Fulgoni

comScore Chairman Emeritus

  • Shopping at work accounts more than 50% of Cyber Monday spending

More than half of desktop e-commerce dollars spent in the U.S. on Cyber Monday originated from work computers (52.2%), while buying from home computers comprised of the remaining share (47.8%), despite more buyers opting to make purchases from this location. Consumers between 35 and 54 years old accounted for 46.5% of total dollars spent on Cyber Monday, while females (61.6%) spent significantly more than males (38.4%).

 

According to comScore, Thanksgiving Day saw a 9% gain to $1.1BN in spending, over $1BN for the second consecutive year, while Black Friday (November 27) was an even stronger spending day, with $1.66BN in desktop online sales, up 10% compared to Black Friday 2014.

Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Reston, Virginia, comScore is a global media measurement and analytics company that makes audiences and advertising more valuable across all the screens that matter. comScore helps media buyers and sellers understand and make decisions based on how consumers use different media, such as TV, video, mobile, desktop and more. Through its products and services, comScore helps its more than 2,500 clients understand their audiences, know if their advertising is working, and access data where they want and need it.