Black Friday Got the Jump on Cyber Monday in Online Sales

While many people were waiting for Cyber Monday to check out the online deals this year, others decided to get a jump on those people. They took advantage of the sales that were held online on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, and retailers cashed in. On Thanksgiving online purchases totaled $227 million, which was up 29 percent compared with last year. Black Friday also had a strong showing with $531 million in online sales, which was an increase of 22 percent compared with online sales for Black Friday of 2006. This information was provided in a recent press release from comScore, Inc.

ComScore, Inc. has been tracking the November-December holiday season online spending, and the news is relatively good for the retailers. For the season, over 9.3 billion dollars have been spent at online retail websites according to the press release. This is an increase of 17 percent when compared with the same time frame this year. The increases in online sales for Thanksgiving and Black Friday even outpaced those numbers.

"The Friday after Thanksgiving is known for heavy spending in retail stores, but it's clear that consumers are increasingly turning to the Internet to make their holiday purchases," commented Giant Fulgoni, who is Chairman of comScore. Online spending on Black Friday has historically represented an early indicator of how the rest of the season will shake out. That the 22-percent growth rate versus last year is outpacing the overall growth rate for the first three weeks of the season should be seen as a sign of positive momentum.", continued Fulgoni.

According to the press release the hot item so far this year for online purchases is video games, consoles & accessories. They are up 134 percent in sales compared with the same time frame last year. Furniture, appliances and equipment is the second place category with sales up 36 percent. They are followed by consumer electronics with an increase of 21 percent in sales from this time period last year. The sport & fitnesscategory is also demonstrating above average sales growth according to the press release.

Many online retailers are expecting good news on Cyber Monday as well to add to their sales numbers. Typically the online holiday sales season ends a little earlier than the traditional brick-and-mortar stores see their holiday sales season end. This is largely in part to the fact that shipping time must be factored in when purchasing products online. For those that want to wait until the last minute though, many online retailers offer expedited shipping.

SOURCES:

Prnewswire.com. "Black Friday Sees $531 Million in Online Retail Spending, Up 22 Percent Versus Last Year".
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