Holiday online spending could beat expectations
Many analysts have predicted that this year's holiday internet retail sales will at least meet – if not surpass – the amount from last year. With the recovering economic conditions, it's certainly easy to believe that 2012 will be a better year for retailers in terms of online spending. Recent research has revealed that so far this season, consumer ecommerce purchases are up significantly from the same time in 2011, which could mean that overall holiday sales will beat expectations. However, these exact numbers are not yet known, and web retailers will not be able to compare the two seasons until the shopping frenzy is over.
Online holiday spending up significantly so far
According to a recently released report by comScore, more than $21.4 billion has been spent online during the first 32 days of the holiday shopping season. The largest contributor to this amount was Cyber Monday, which turned out to be the biggest internet shopping day in history, with $1.4 billion made in purchases.
Online retailers saw a 17 percent increase on this year's Cyber Monday when compared to the same time in 2011. However, that was not the most significant boost regarding the two shopping seasons. ComScore reported that Thanksgiving Day was the biggest jump, with a 32 percent jump in online retail sales from last year. This was followed by Black Friday, with a 28 percent boost in ecommerce spending. On the other hand, the study found that online purchases began to decrease slightly after Cyber Monday, but the research firm expects things will begin to pick back up soon.
"While Cyber Monday was a high point for holiday ecommerce spending and Cyber Week saw several strong spending days, there was a clear softening in the growth rate during the back half of the week," said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni. "However, as the urgency to finish one's holiday shopping increases we expect to see growth rates pick up again in the next couple of weeks before Christmas."
What are the overall expectations?
Online spending has been significant so far this year, and analysts predict that retail sales at brick-and-mortar locations will also bring in large revenues for businesses. Before the beginning of the holiday shopping season, Shop.org released a report estimating that retailers will see a 12 percent rise in purchases from last year's totals, representing approximately $96 billion. However, that amount could be surpassed if consumers continue to hit retail stores and websites.
