US holiday spending online up 12pc over last year

The most recent week (ending 12 December) reached US$5.31bn in spending, an increase of 12pc from the same week in 2009.

Monday, December 13 - known as ‘Green Monday’, the second Monday in December when online spending has historically tended to peak - reached US$954m in spending, another 12pc increase over last year.

“Green Monday represented another banner day for the 2010 holiday season with US$954m in spending, ranking as the second heaviest online spending day on record behind this year’s Cyber Monday,” said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni.

“Green Monday kicks off what we expect will be the heaviest online shopping week of the season right up through ‘Free Shipping Day’ on Friday, December 17. In the past, Green Monday was more reliably the heaviest day of the season, but in recent years we have seen heavy spending days occur even later into the season as consumers continue to gain confidence in retailers and shippers being able to deliver their gifts in time for Christmas.”

As part of the comScore Holiday Shopping Survey, more than 500 consumers were asked about their holiday shopping for the season to date. When asked if they had already finished their holiday shopping, 35pc of respondents indicated they had done all their shopping for the season.

Of the 65pc who had not yet finished their shopping, 33pc said the main reason was because they did not have enough money to purchase the gifts they wanted. A further 32pc indicated they hadn’t had enough time to finish shopping, 11pc said they were waiting to get better deals at the last minute and 6pc said they enjoyed the thrill of last-minute shopping.

“The reasons consumers give for not having finished their holiday shopping reveal some very important dynamics driving the retail industry today,” added Fulgoni. “The first is that we are offered a stark reminder that many consumers are still strapped for cash and may be waiting for their mid-December paychecks before they can finish their shopping. The second important point is that it’s clear consumers have significant time constraints in their lives, which is one of the key drivers behind the continuing shift in retail dollars to the online medium, as the internet enables people to shop for many gifts quickly and more efficiently, not to mention the cost savings that can be realized through e-commerce.”