According to the digital world analyzer comScore, online retail spending for the November - December (2012) period in the United States will reach $43.4 billion, marking a 17-percent growth versus year ago.
For the holiday season-to-date, $10.1 billion has been spent online, marking a 16-percent increase versus the corresponding days last year. Thursday, November 8 has been the heaviest online spending day of the season to date at $829 million, the comScore date revealed.
"The 2012 online holiday shopping season is off to an encouraging start with a 16-percent growth thus far," said comScore chairman, Gian Fulgoni. This strong growth rate represents an improvement compared to last season's 15-percent increase. It is also far ahead of the retail industry's expectation for a 4.1-percent increase in consumers' overall spending this holiday season.
"Recent 5-year highs in consumer confidence and early retailer promotions appear to be serving as wind in the sails for the beginning portion of the holiday season, with consumers opening up their wallets early and often. This spending growth also reflects the continuing channel shift to online as consumers increasingly opt for the attractive pricing, convenience and product selection it offers," Fulgoni said.
"The strength leading up to and during the holiday season-to-date, in addition to a maximum 32 shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas, provide the basis for what we view as a fairly optimistic outlook for the 2012 online holiday shopping season," added Fulgoni. "Accounting for these factors, comScore forecasts a healthy 17-percent growth rate to $43.4 billion in online spending for the months of November and December. This would put an exclamation point on what has already been a strong year for retail e-commerce.
