comScore today reported holiday season retail e-commerce spending for the first 27 days of the November – December 2009 holiday season. For the holiday season-to-date, $10.57 billion has been spent online, marking a 3-percent increase versus the corresponding days last year. Black Friday (November 27) saw $595 million in online sales, making it the second heaviest online spending day to date in 2009 and representing an 11-percent increase versus Black Friday 2008.
*Corresponding days based on corresponding shopping days (November 2 thru November 28, 2008)
“Black Friday, better known as a shopping bonanza in brick-and-mortar retail stores, is increasingly becoming one of the landmark days in the online holiday shopping world,” said comScore chairman, Gian Fulgoni, in the press release. “The $595 million in online spending this Black Friday represents the second heaviest online spending day of the season-to-date and a double-digit increase from last year. While this acceleration in spending suggests the online holiday season may be shaping up slightly more optimistically than anticipated, it may also reflect the heavy discounting and creative promotions being put forth by retailers that now encompass the use of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Cyber Monday – the traditional kick-off to the online holiday shopping season – and the subsequent weeks will be the real test for how online retailers fare this season. That said, this is a very encouraging start.”
Promotions and Black Friday Bargains Drive Jump in Online Sales Activity
Over the years, the online channel has become an increasingly influential driver in offline shopping behavior. Before making purchases in brick-and-mortar retail locations, consumers have become adept at doing their research beforehand. The array of sites doing round-ups of Black Friday deals are becoming more popular than ever.
comScore studied eight Black Friday deal sites for the five days ending Black Friday (Nov. 23-27) compared to the corresponding days last year, finding that BFads.net led the pack with 3.9 million unique visitors, up 4 percent versus last year. BlackFriday.info followed with 3.5 million visitors, while Black-Friday.net (up 136 percent to 2.3 million visitors) showed the fastest growth.
Some other notable findings about Black Friday deal-seeking include:
• The number of visitors to coupon sites on Black Friday grew 17 percent versus year ago to 3.3 million visitors.
• BlackFriday.info was the most visited coupon site on Black Friday with 748,000 unique visitors, followed by RetailMeNot.com (356,000 visitors) and Eversave.com (253,000).
• ShopLocal.com ranked as the most visited comparison shopping site on Black Friday with 2 million visitors, up 31 percent versus year ago.
Amazon Tops among Online Retail Properties on Black Friday
Five retail properties surpassed four million U.S. unique visitors (i.e. four million different people) on Black Friday, with each of these properties experiencing gains versus last year. Amazon Sites was the most visited retail property on Black Friday, growing 28 percent from the corresponding shopping day a year ago, followed closely by Walmart, which grew 22 percent. Apple.com Worldwide Sites (up 39 percent), Target Corporation (up 2 percent) and Best Buy Sites (up 24 percent) rounded out the top five.
“Much attention has focused on Amazon and Walmart this season, and both retailers performed particularly well online on Black Friday in terms of attracting visitors,” added Mr. Fulgoni. “We will be watching closely to see how these retailers perform during these next critical weeks of the season.”
Source: comScore, Inc.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Fred Mertz” and “James W.” for the heads up.]
I was disappointed because Apple did not combine the Black Friday discounts with their Employee Purchase Program discounts offered through my employer as they have at least the last 2 years. In fact, many of the Black Friday discounts were not as good as the EPP discounts.
This is nothing short of astonishing for Apple. First, their growth is clearly highest by a solid margin. And second, (much more significant), Apple’s online property is No. 3 in the total number of unique visitors, just behind Amazon (the undisputed king), and Wal-Mart (the undisputed brick-and-mortar king). It edged out Target (the No. 2 b&m;) and Best Buy, the king of discount electronics. If you keep in mind the fact that all these retailers are selling iPods, Macs, in addition to HDTVs, Blu-ray players, movies and other electronics, and Apple is primarily selling Macs and iPods, it makes it amazing that with only their own gear, Apple was able to beat Best Buy and Target on Black Friday.
We’ll have to wait until (at least) tomorrow to see how Apple.com fared on Cyber Monday (biggest online shopping day of the year).
@Disappointed
I wondered about that. The Black Friday discount did apply to the the Federal Gov’t Employee pricing in 2007, but not the academic pricing. That’s when I bought my 24″ iMac, which continues to be an outstanding piece of equipment, BTW.
In the absence of a combined EPP/Black Friday discount, there is no incentive for me to join in the Black Friday retail rat race.
@Predrag
Wise words man, should have been the MDN Take.
Imagine what the results would have been, had the Black Friday discounts not been as lackluster as this year.
The online channel has become an increasingly influential driver in offline shopping behavior. Top Online Marketing Tips | Online Marketing Products | Target Online Marketing Before making purchases in brick-and-mortar retail locations, consumers have become adept at doing their research beforehand.