RESTON, Va.— comScore (NASDAQ : SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, just reported that this holiday season’s retail e-commerce spending was up by 13 percent for the first 37 days of the November–December 2012 holiday season. That equated to a whopping $26.6 billion spent online, marking a 13-percent increase versus the corresponding days last year. The week of Dec. 3rd also saw three individual days eclipse $1 billion in spending – Monday, Dec. 3 ($1.117 billion), Tuesday, Dec. 4 ($1.362 billion) and Wednesday, Dec. 5 ($1.051 billion) – bringing the total number of billion dollar spending days for the season to seven.

Further, this week’s Dec. 10 – known as "Green Monday" – hasn’t been tallied yet, but is likely to be the heaviest online spending week in history, noted comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni. This week, he noted, “has a realistic chance of delivering five billion-dollar days.”

While Green Monday has been eclipsed by Cyber Monday (the Monday after Thanksgiving) in recent years, comScore anticipates this week’s day has seen spending levels double over the past six years.

Cyber Monday and Green Monday Spending and Rank by Year
2005-2011
Non-Travel (Retail) Spending
Excludes Auctions and Large Corporate Purchases
Total U.S. – Home & Work Locations
Source: comScore, Inc.

 


 

“Green Monday got its moniker several years ago because of the widely held misconception at the time that Cyber Monday was the heaviest online shopping day of the season, when in reality it was lucky to crack the top ten. Green Monday came to refer to that Monday near mid-December when online spending actually tended to peak as consumers hurried to finish their online shopping in time for shipments to arrive before Christmas,” added Fulgoni. “While we still see that steady build in spending continuing into mid-December, Cyber Monday’s intense promotional activity has vaulted it into the top spot in recent years while Green Monday has had to settle for a spot in the top three. Still, it should be a very active online shopping day that will post a strong total when all is said and done.”