While this year's Cyber Monday was the biggest internet shopping day ever, American consumers also went online the following Tuesday and Wednesday in large numbers, with more than $1 billion being spent on each of those days as well. These findings are highlighting the growing trend of both early holiday shopping and ecommerce, as customers are preferring to get a jump start on purchasing items and gifts for loved ones through the internet. Web retailers can take advantage of this buying behavior by improving their online storefronts and offering more options for internet-connected shoppers.

Three straight days of billion dollar spending

According to a recently released study by comScore, Cyber Monday brought in approximately $1.46 billion for online merchants. However, the next two days also saw purchasing amounts of over $1 billion, as consumers went online Tuesday and Wednesday to spend $1.26 billion and $1.11 billion, respectively. The research stated that Cyber Monday and Tuesday were the heaviest ecommerce days in history, as Tuesday's amount surpassed the total that was spent online on Cyber Monday of last year.

However, comScore found that after these three consecutive days of $1 billion spending, consumers cooled their heels when it came to online shopping. On the other hand, these customers are expected to continue to hit retail stores and websites over the next few weeks to stock up on gifts and products.

ComScore's study revealed that one of the largest drivers for these large internet shopping days was free shipping offered by merchants. The research found that consumers purchased more from retailers that offered this aspect, compared to businesses that did not.

"Though retailers must often sacrifice margins when they provide free shipping, they benefit because consumers tend to spend significantly more on those transactions," stated comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni. "Consumers may either be responding to the minimum spending thresholds needed in order to receive free shipping, or figure that as long as they know they're receiving free shipping it might be worth adding another item or two to their shopping basket."

Black Friday brings in large amount for retailers

The official start of the holiday shopping season was on Black Friday, and companies across the country saw significant sales throughout the entire weekend, reports Fox Business. Shoppers still kept an eye on their budgets as they hit retail stores, as a Reuters/Ipsos poll revealed that 52 percent of consumers stayed within their price ranges. Many took advantage of the various deals and discounts being offered, as 33 percent stated they found better offers this year than during last year's holiday shopping season. 

Mobile devices like smartphones and tablets are becoming increasingly prevalent in today's world, as consumers are using them to complete many daily tasks. Many people are taking to their devices to purchase items and services from businesses, which has caused many retailers to begin focusing their attention on the technology. However, merchant websites that are viewed on computers are not the same as ones seen on smartphones and tablets. This means that businesses need to turn their attention to developing mobile-optimized sites as well as attractive designs for connected consumers.

Mobile sites have extra features

Besides creating sites that are able to be viewed effectively on mobile devices, retailers are also offering various features and aspects on these platforms that cannot be accessed by sites designed for computers. This trend was the focus of a seminar at the Internet Retailer Mobile Marketing and Commmerce Forum in San Diego. At the event, several examples of these additional features were showcases, such as the one provided by Walgreens Pharmacy. This element allows consumers to scan their prescription bottles using their smartphone and tablet cameras, and the information is then used to refill the needed medications.

Online retail giant eBay has created a special mobile Red Laser application for Best Buy, which gives shoppers the ability to see discounts and deals being offered by the electronics superstores' retail locations they visit. Another example is Wine.com's iPad app, giving visitors four wheels that can be spun to find which wines they are looking for, as well as an interactive map that is used to search for where certain wineries are located.

"Get rid of the PC paradigm," said Forrester Research analyst Julie Ask, when giving a presentation on the focus of mobile sites. "You can't just shrink and squeeze your web sites for mobile, you've got do things differently. Mobile first means designing for mobile from the ground up."

Mobile retail gaining ground

To gain a better understanding of how important mobile is within the retail industry, businesses only need to look at this year's Black Friday shopping weekend. Bloomberg reports that while not all numbers are yet available when it comes to the totals spent through mobile devices, eBay's amounts were significant. The company saw its biggest mobile shopping day on Sunday, when purchases from devices more than doubled the ones from last year.

Retailers are starting to pay attention to the fact that consumers are increasingly going on the internet to buy items and services, whether by using their computers or mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets. One way that merchants are responding to this purchasing behavior is by increasing the amount of money they put into both the technology required to offer customers online options as well as marketing efforts to reach out to these target audiences. As businesses boost these aspects of their budgets, they can expect ecommerce to continue to grow as shoppers use the channel to stock up on products.

Ecommerce technology gets big focus

Perhaps one of the most important elements of online shopping is the technology that retailers need to maintain to provide internet purchasing applications and services. This is one of the main reasons why 70 percent of merchants are putting more money into these components, according to a recent survey by Internet Retailer. The research found that the bulk of this increase in funds will be going toward ecommerce platforms, but the majority of companies (86 percent) will outsource the development of these solutions as they do not have the in-house staffing abilities to do it themselves.

However, this is something that many retailers are hoping to change as online shopping becomes more prevalent, Internet Retailer notes. The source highlighted one business that is aiming to create their own web platforms soon to fit the needs of their customers.

"Next year we will spend more to ensure we have the systems expertise and personnel in-house that will allow us to stay flexible in our approach to constant changes in e-commerce technology and grow globally," said Michael Brady, chief technology officer for Market America, a cosmetic and health supply retailer.

Online marketing also getting attention

Retailers are also increasing their online marketing budgets, in the hopes of drawing in more customers to their websites. A recent study by Retail Systems Research revealed that more than one-fifth of merchants surveyed stated they will significantly increase their spending on social media, email and mobile advertising initiatives. These findings show that businesses are taking notice of the increasing importance of online shopping and how it impacts their operations.

Although Cyber Monday started out as a way for American consumers to purchase items from large retailers online, it seems as though the internet shopping day is reaching both smaller retailers and foreign customers as well.

Throughout the country, many small businesses saw the benefits of Cyber Monday with boosts in revenue from internet purchases, reports the Lincoln Journal Star. The news source spoke with several merchants in the Lincoln, Nebraska, area that experienced an online sales boom during the shopping day. Many of these owners told the newspaper they were extremely pleased with the outcome of Cyber Monday, and they expect these strong purchasing trends to continue throughout the holiday season.

Consumers in other countries have heard about the online shopping day and are taking advantage of it by going on the web to buy items from American retailers, according to Business News Daily. This is great news for companies, as it only helps to increase their revenues. The source cites research by FiftyOne, which revealed that customers in more than 100 nations purchased products and gifts from U.S. businesses throughout the day.

Although Cyber Monday started out as a way for American consumers to purchase items from large retailers online, it seems as though the internet shopping day is reaching both smaller retailers and foreign customers as well.

Throughout the country, many small businesses saw the benefits of Cyber Monday with boosts in revenue from internet purchases, reports the Lincoln Journal Star. The news source spoke with several merchants in the Lincoln, Nebraska, area that experienced an online sales boom during the shopping day. Many of these owners told the newspaper they were extremely pleased with the outcome of Cyber Monday, and they expect these strong purchasing trends to continue throughout the holiday season.

Consumers in other countries have heard about the online shopping day and are taking advantage of it by going on the web to buy items from American retailers, according to Business News Daily. This is great news for companies, as it only helps to increase their revenues. The source cites research by FiftyOne, which revealed that customers in more than 100 nations purchased products and gifts from U.S. businesses throughout the day.

Although Cyber Monday started out as a way for American consumers to purchase items from large retailers online, it seems as though the internet shopping day is reaching both smaller retailers and foreign customers as well.

Throughout the country, many small businesses saw the benefits of Cyber Monday with boosts in revenue from internet purchases, reports the Lincoln Journal Star. The news source spoke with several merchants in the Lincoln, Nebraska, area that experienced an online sales boom during the shopping day. Many of these owners told the newspaper they were extremely pleased with the outcome of Cyber Monday, and they expect these strong purchasing trends to continue throughout the holiday season.

Consumers in other countries have heard about the online shopping day and are taking advantage of it by going on the web to buy items from American retailers, according to Business News Daily. This is great news for companies, as it only helps to increase their revenues. The source cites research by FiftyOne, which revealed that customers in more than 100 nations purchased products and gifts from U.S. businesses throughout the day.

Although millions of American consumers hit retail stores on Black Friday, a significant number made the decision to stay home and purchase items through the internet. Many used their personal computers to buy products, and a large amount used their smartphones and tablets to get their shopping done. This highlights the growing trend of mobile devices being used for retail purchases.

Internet Retail reports that according to recent research by Easy2Technologies, the amount of Black Friday traffic on retail sites from smartphones and tablets increased by 155 percent, in comparison to the average number of daily visitors through the devices.

"Last year at this time, mobile and tablet shopping began to reach critical mass," says Ethan Cohen, CEO of Easy2 Technologies. "Since then, we have seen tablet sales explode and smartphone penetration continue its steady increase. Mobile shopping activity has grown 49 percent since August."

So what can retailers take from these findings? WRAL Techwire writes that mobile devices should be put at the forefront of retail purchasing technology. If merchants fail to provide mobile-optimized or -friendly websites, they could lose out on a significant amount of sales, not only during the holidays but throughout the rest of the year.

Although millions of American consumers hit retail stores on Black Friday, a significant number made the decision to stay home and purchase items through the internet. Many used their personal computers to buy products, and a large amount used their smartphones and tablets to get their shopping done. This highlights the growing trend of mobile devices being used for retail purchases.

Internet Retail reports that according to recent research by Easy2Technologies, the amount of Black Friday traffic on retail sites from smartphones and tablets increased by 155 percent, in comparison to the average number of daily visitors through the devices.

"Last year at this time, mobile and tablet shopping began to reach critical mass," says Ethan Cohen, CEO of Easy2 Technologies. "Since then, we have seen tablet sales explode and smartphone penetration continue its steady increase. Mobile shopping activity has grown 49 percent since August."

So what can retailers take from these findings? WRAL Techwire writes that mobile devices should be put at the forefront of retail purchasing technology. If merchants fail to provide mobile-optimized or -friendly websites, they could lose out on a significant amount of sales, not only during the holidays but throughout the rest of the year.

Although millions of American consumers hit retail stores on Black Friday, a significant number made the decision to stay home and purchase items through the internet. Many used their personal computers to buy products, and a large amount used their smartphones and tablets to get their shopping done. This highlights the growing trend of mobile devices being used for retail purchases.

Internet Retail reports that according to recent research by Easy2Technologies, the amount of Black Friday traffic on retail sites from smartphones and tablets increased by 155 percent, in comparison to the average number of daily visitors through the devices.

"Last year at this time, mobile and tablet shopping began to reach critical mass," says Ethan Cohen, CEO of Easy2 Technologies. "Since then, we have seen tablet sales explode and smartphone penetration continue its steady increase. Mobile shopping activity has grown 49 percent since August."

So what can retailers take from these findings? WRAL Techwire writes that mobile devices should be put at the forefront of retail purchasing technology. If merchants fail to provide mobile-optimized or -friendly websites, they could lose out on a significant amount of sales, not only during the holidays but throughout the rest of the year.

When developing and maintaining an effective retail website, one concern many merchants face is the possibility of the online storefront crashing or slowing down, which can result in lost sales. This was a big worry for many businesses over Thanksgiving weekend, as a record number of shoppers used the internet to purchase items and gifts for the holiday season. For the most part, websites held up to the vast amounts of traffic.

Internet Retailer reports that there were no major power outages throughout the weekend for the retailers that were tracked on the Keynote Mobile Commerce Performance Index. There was a slight problem with site availability on Cyber Monday, but it was not enough to significantly deter retail sales. The source notes that to avoid these types of situations in the future, especially ones that can have a severe impact on customer purchases, regular testing should be conducted to ensure that the sites can withstand large amounts of traffic and any interruptions.

Cyber Monday turned out to be the biggest online spending day in history, according to a study by comScore. Approximately $1.46 billion was spent on retail sites throughout the day, which was an increase of 17 percent from the same time last year.