ComScore: Cyber Monday Sales Up 15 Percent
As promised, here are the comScore (SCOR) Cyber Monday numbers: The Web measurement firm says sales increased 15 percent over last year’s totals (click on table to enlarge).
Taken together with numbers from Black Friday and last weekend, these are encouraging, but not conclusive, data that consumer spending for the holidays may not be quite as bad as predicted. And while that won’t solve the economy’s deep problems, it would constitute good news, which is in short supply.
This should also hearten potential investors in Amazon (AMZN), which increasingly looks like it will be one of the only clear winners this holiday season.
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Cyber Monday Sales Up 15%, Down In November - ComScore
Last update: 12/3/2008 10:27:23 AM
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Online retail spending for the first 31 days of the holiday season starting Nov. 1 fell 2% from a year ago, but spending on Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving, rose 15%, according to research company comScore Inc. (SCOR).
The report also said the four days from Black Friday through Cyber Monday saw online sales jump 13%.
“Consumers are clearly responding positively to retailers’ aggressive online discounts,” comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni said. He added that Monday’s sales of $846 million was the second-highest total for any day since the company started keeping track six years ago.
The provider of survey and research services in the digital world reported that for the first 31 days of the holiday season - Nov. 1 through Dec. 1 - online sales decreased to $12.03 billion.
Retailers, hurt by consumers’ cutbacks in their discretionary spending amid the global recession, have been using markdowns and promotions to drive sales and draw in customers - but the moves have also put pressure on margins.
ComScore’s most recent holiday retail survey, conducted from Nov. 28 to Dec. 1, showed 51% of consumers said the level of discounts is higher this year than last year. Also, 39% said there seemed to be fewer people shopping in retail stores compared with a year ago.
-By Kerry E. Grace, Dow Jones
Posted by Tom Marhoefer at December 3rd, 2008 at 7:51 amHey Tom. I know you’re not an Amazon fan. So I’ll leave you a big opening here: Please explain why this doesn’t constitute good news for Bezos and co.
Posted by Peter Kafka at December 3rd, 2008 at 7:57 amOne day. I believe the report said sales were down YOY for the entire month?
That is the main point.
Posted by Tom Marhoefer at December 3rd, 2008 at 8:09 amI’d like to make another small point:
The whole premise of “Cyber Monday” is laughable. Does anyone really believe that people are shopping–from their desks at work –as the economy loses millions of jobs?
Really.
Posted by Tom Marhoefer at December 3rd, 2008 at 8:16 amRight. So, yes: It’s one day. And yes, data prior to that has been bad. But that’s all old news. The news is that this is better than expected. And by all accounts, this looks like a chance for AMZN to increase market share significantly (and will cut into their margins, of course).
Posted by Peter Kafka at December 3rd, 2008 at 9:31 amBy that logic, one could argue that Monday is old news, and Friday’s upcoming labor report–showing a loss of some 325,000 jobs–more important.
But you do bring up a very good point about Amazon’s margin erosion.
Posted by Tom Marhoefer at December 3rd, 2008 at 10:03 am