Wintry Weekend Weather Keeps Consumers Spending Online
Weekend Generates $677 Million in Online Spending, Nearly Double that of Weekend Closest to Christmas Last Year
RESTON, VA, December 23, 2008 – Comscore (NASDAQ : SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today reported its tracking of holiday season retail e-commerce spending for the first 51 days of the November – December 2008 holiday season. For the holiday season through December 21, $24.71 billion has been spent online, down one percent versus the corresponding shopping days last year.
Online spending over the most recent weekend (Dec. 20-21, 2008) totaled $677 million, which is down 17 percent when compared to the corresponding fourth weekend after Thanksgiving last year (Dec. 16-17, 2007). However, when a comparison is made to the weekend nearest Christmas last year (Dec. 22-23, 2007), spending this past weekend is seen to be nearly twice as high.
2008 Holiday Season To Date vs. Corresponding Days* in 2007 | |||
Holiday Season to Date | Millions ($) | ||
2007 | 2008 | Pct Change | |
November 1 – December 2 | $24,962 | $24,705 | -1 |
Dec .1 (Cyber Monday) – Dec. 21 | $13,478 | $13,526 | 0% |
Dec. 20-21, 2008 vs. Dec. 15-16, 2007 | $811 | $677 | -17% |
Dec. 20-21, 2008 vs. Dec. 22-23, 2007 | $341 | $677 | 98% |
*Corresponding days based on equivalent shopping days relative to Thanksgiving (October 27 – December 16, 2007)
“Because of the way the shopping days fall this year with five fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas, there is no perfect adjusted-day comparison to make at this point in the season,” said Comscore chairman Gian Fulgoni. “However, online spending over the most recent weekend was clearly substantially heavier than the corresponding weekend nearest Christmas last year, which suggests that many consumers opted for the cozier confines of online shopping rather than having to brave the severe cold and snowstorms affecting much of the northern half of the country. It’s also clear that this year’s compressed shopping season has resulted in some consumers buying online later than they did a year ago. A positive late-season boost for online retail perhaps, but it’s ultimately not going to do much to make up for the significantly shorter shopping season this year.”
Weekly Online Retail Spending
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Comscore’s Summary of 2008 Holiday Online Retail Spending by Key Time Period
Online Non-Travel (Retail) Holiday Consumer Spending | |||
Millions ($) | |||
2007 | 2008 | Pct Change | |
January – October | $93,551 | $102,144 | 9% |
Comscore Holiday Season Forecast (Nov-Dec) | $29,169 | $29,200** | 0%** |
November 27 (Thanksgiving Day)* | $273 | $288 | 6% |
November 28 (Black Friday)* | $531 | $534 | 1% |
December 1 (Cyber Monday)* | $733 | $846 | 15% |
* Versus Corresponding Shopping Day in 2007 Relative to Thanksgiving
**Forecast
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Press
Bill Daddi
Daddi Brand Communications
646-370-1341
press@comscore.com