November 28, 2011
By the ZippyCart Content Team
Holiday shopping season 2011 got off to a great start with retailers reporting record-breaking Black Friday sales in both brick-and-mortar and online storefronts. According to research by comScore released yesterday, online sales in the U.S. surged on Black Friday and generated an estimated $816 million, up from $648 million last Black Friday. Brick-and-mortar retail sales dwarfed that number with a reported $11.4 billion in sales on Black Friday alone.
The report released by comScore showed that ecommerce spending on Black Friday jumped 26% this year, even though researchers thought brick-and-mortar store deals would detract from the amount of consumers opting to shop online. Also reported, overall traffic on ecommerce websites was up 35% from last year. The ecommerce solutions who boasted the most consumer traffic were Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, Target and Apple.
Gian Fulgoni, comScore chairman, further explained the research:
“Amazon.com once again led the pack, with 50% more visitors than any other retailer, while also showing the highest growth rate versus last year. However, it is telling that the top multi-channel retailers also showed strong growth in visitors, demonstrating the importance of the online channel to the retail industry as a whole.”
U.S. shoppers have spent $12.7 billion online so far this holiday season, which is up 15% compared in 2010, comScore also reported. Online traffic and consumer spending online are both expected to be surpassed today, Cyber Monday.
Cyber Monday spending has been predicted to reach a record $1.2 billion, which, if Black Friday spending is some indication, will prove to be a low estimate. If profits reach $1.2 billion (and we’re assuming they will) it will mark only the second time ever that a billion dollars in ecommerce sales has occurred in one day. Last year, Cyber Monday was the most profitable day for online spending throughout 2010 and this year has already seen a 15% increase in sales from Cyber Monday 2010.
Ecommerce giant Amazon and competitor Best Buy are making a big Cyber Monday push with outstanding deal offerings. Shoppers looking for electronics, toys and other products can take advantage of deep discounts found on both Amazon and Best Buy in addition to Overstock.com and Barnes and Noble. Overstock and Barnes and Noble shoppers can take advantage of exceptional deals offered today only.
Amazon and mega-retailer Walmart are taking Cyber Monday a step further and transforming the “holiday” into a full week of online shopping. Consumers will find lightning deals on Amazon along with other discounts on Walmart.com for the rest of the week.
Andrea is originally from Vancouver (not Canada), Washington (not D.C.) but currently resides in Seattle, WA as she finishes up her last two quarters at Seattle Pacific University. Majoring in communications and minoring in business administration, Andrea has big dreams of a career in public relations. When not writing for Zippycart or studying for class (hah!) she enjoys the chaos of living in a house with 5 other girls. Follow her adventures on Twitter: @andrea_ruge
