More Than $2 Billion In Desktop Sales Completed On Cyber Monday
Around $2 billion of sales were completed this Cyber Monday in the US, The Huffington Post reports. According to figures this is the largest ever online spending day in history – and marked an increase of 17% compared to the same day in 2013.
The data, gathered by insight firm ComScore, found that around $2.038 billion was spent via desktops on the day, along with around $26.7 billion spent over the month of November as well – an increase of 16% from the same period last year. There was also an increase in sales in the weekend after Thanksgiving in the US, with the two day period amassing a total spend of $2.01 billion.
Gian Fulgoni, the chairman emeritus of ComScore, noted that: “Any notion that Cyber Monday is declining in importance is really unfounded, as it continues to post new historical highs and reflects the ongoing strength of online this holiday season.”
Fulgoni then went on to note how the continued strength of online shopping may be reflective of the popularity of “showrooming” – the act of viewing specific products whilst in a bricks-and-mortar store, yet completing the purchase online; he concluded that “the data we’re seeing suggest it may be more a change in shopping behaviour than a lack of consumer demand.”
Jay Henderson, the director of IBM Smarter Commerce – which also conducted research into the shopping patterns on Cyber Monday – stated that: “retailers and marketers took advantage by making it easier for consumers to find the best deals on the go, whenever and wherever they chose to shop.”
Cyber Monday was given the name in 2005 from Shop.org – the online specialist sector for the National Retail Federation.