Consumers set up a blockbuster holiday season at the Box Office
Tighter Budgets Resulted in Lower Dollars per Buyer vs. Year Ago
RESTON, VA, December 4, 2008 – Comscore (NASDAQ : SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released additional insights into online consumer activity on Cyber Monday, revealing where the majority of dollars spent originated as well as traffic gains for major retail sites.
As reported in Comscore’s December 3 press release, online retail sales on Cyber Monday this year increased by 15 percent over last year’s level. This gain was driven by a 22-percent increase in the number of buyers, while the average dollars spent per buyer declined by 5 percent versus year ago. This decline in dollars per buyer can be traced to a drop in the number of buying transactions completed by the average buyer.
Breakdown of Cyber Monday E-Commerce SpendingNon-Travel (Retail) SpendingExcludes Auctions and Large Corporate Purchases2008 vs. 2007Total U.S. – Home/Work/University LocationsSource: Comscore, Inc.
Cyber Monday
2007
2008
Percent Change
Dollars ($ Millions)
$733
$846
15%
Number of Buyers (000)
7,585
9,254
22%
Dollars per Buyer
$96.62
$91.43
-5%
Average Transaction Value
$53.89
$55.76
3%
Transactions per Buyer
1.79
1.64
-9%
“Because of the extremely attractive prices offered by a myriad of retailers, it shouldn’t be surprising that nearly two million more consumers purchased online this Cyber Monday compared to last. But, because of their reduced spending power it’s also evident that those who did buy were unable or unwilling to spend as much per person as we saw last year,” said Comscore chairman Gian Fulgoni. “That said, it’s clear that Cyber Monday has become a well publicized event that has fundamentally captured consumers’ attention and a meaningful share of their wallets.”
Work Computers Accounted for Half of Cyber Monday Spending
The Cyber Monday phenomenon is driven primarily by online spending from work computers as people return to work after the Thanksgiving weekend and begin making their holiday gift purchases out of view of family members and from computers with ultra fast connections. Similar to previous years, work computers accounted for approximately half of total online spending on Cyber Monday. Interestingly, although they represent a relatively small percentage (7 percent) of overall Cyber Monday spending, international consumers spent 44 percent more online at U.S. sites than they did in 2007, a potential consequence of the far faster ramp up in Internet usage that is occurring in many less mature international markets than in the U.S today.
Breakdown of Cyber Monday E-Commerce Spending by LocationNon-Travel (Retail) SpendingExcludes Auctions and Large Corporate Purchases2008 vs. 2007Total U.S. – Home/Work/University LocationsSource: Comscore, Inc.
Cyber Monday Spending ($ Millions)
Percent of 2008 Spending
All Locations
100%
Home
$297
$334
39%
Work
$372
$426
50%
University
$22
$25
International
$42
$60
7%
Retail Sites Draw Massive Visitor Gains on Cyber Monday Relative to Depressed November Levels
More than 57 million Americans visited retail sites on Cyber Monday, representing a 33-percent jump versus the average daily visitors in November 2008, a month that generally saw reduced visitation to retail sites as consumers struggled to assimilate a succession of negative economic events. The most visited retail site on Cyber Monday was eBay, which grew 45 percent over November levels to nearly 13 million visitors, followed by Amazon Sites with 9.2 million visitors (up 56 percent), Wal-Mart with 6.8 million visitors (up 90 percent), and Target Corporation with 4.8 million visitors (up 54 percent).
Top 20 Most Visited Retailer Sites on Cyber Monday (December 1, 2008)December 1, 2008 vs. November 2008 (average)Total U.S. – Home/Work/University LocationsSource: Comscore, Inc.
Average Daily Unique Visitors (000)
Month of November 2008
Cyber Monday (Dec. 1)
Retail Category
42,927
57,129
33%
eBay
8,930
12,981
45%
Amazon Sites
5,894
9,207
56%
Wal-Mart
3,569
6,766
90%
Target Corporation
3,108
4,801
54%
Apple Inc.
2,567
3,683
43%
Best Buy Sites
1,257
2,908
131%
Dell
1,550
2,372
53%
Toysrus Sites
1,432
2,162
51%
OVERSTOCK.COM
1,519
2,053
35%
Moviefone
1,315
1,968
Hewlett Packard
1,004
1,952
94%
SEARS.COM
1,044
1,911
83%
JCPenney Sites
1,013
1,873
85%
Circuit City Stores, Inc.
1,020
1,623
59%
Macy's Inc.
823
1,573
91%
AmericanGreetings Property
821
1,461
78%
OLDNAVY.COM
743
1,384
86%
NETFLIX.COM
808
1,318
63%
Kohls Corporation
771
1,113
44%
Limitedbrands
676
1,110
64%
CyberMonday.com Draws 1 Million Visitors on Cyber Monday
For some time, online shopping resources have been a popular way for consumers to compare prices and obtain the best deal – whether their ultimate purchase was completed online or in a retail store. In a tight economy, the popularity of these resources can increase even more. Cyber Monday saw significant visitor gains at most of the top retail resources, led by Shopzilla.com Sites with nearly 2 million visitors (up 98 percent versus the November base period), followed by Yahoo! Shopping with 1.9 million visitors (up 81 percent) and Google Product Search with 1.1 million (up 59 percent). CyberMonday.com, Shop.org’s online round-up of the best Cyber Monday deals, attracted 1 million unique visitors.
Top 10 Most Visited Online Retail Resource Sites on Cyber Monday (December 1, 2008)December 1, 2008 vs. November 2008 (average)Total U.S. – Home/Work/University LocationsSource: Comscore, Inc.
Shopzilla.com Sites
985
1,953
98%
Yahoo! Shopping
1,024
1,856
81%
Google Product Search
697
MSN Shopping
672
1,108
65%
Nextag.com Sites
367
1,010
176%
CyberMonday.com
13
7578%
SHOPLOCAL.COM
585
878
ValueClick Sites
531
675
27%
PRONTO.COM
288
638
121%
Yahoo! Stores
254
571
125%
About ComscoreComscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital marketing intelligence. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/boilerplate.
PressBill DaddiDaddi Brand Communications646-370-1341press@comscore.com