E-commerce on the busiest shopping day in the United States has set a new record. Nov. 23's Black Friday saw $1.042 billion in online sales, making it the heaviest online spending day to date in 2012 and representing a 26-percent increase versus Black Friday 2011. Thanksgiving Day, while traditionally a lighter day for online holiday spending, achieved a strong 32-percent increase to $633 million, reveals a comScore report. For the holiday season-to-date, $13.7 billion has been spent online, marking a 16-percent increase versus the corresponding days last year.
"Despite the frenzy of media coverage surrounding the importance of Black Friday in the brick-and-mortar world, we continue to see this shopping day become more and more prominent in the e-commerce channel - particularly among those who prefer to avoid crowds at the stores," said comScore chairman, Gian Fulgoni.
2012 Holiday Season To Date vs. Corresponding Days* in 2011. Non-Travel (Retail) Spending. Excludes Auctions and Large Corporate Purchases. Total U.S. - Home & Work Locations. | |||
Millions ($) | |||
2011 | 2012 | Percent Change | |
November 1 - 23 | $11,832 | $13,726 | 16% |
Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 22) | $479 | $633 | 32% |
Black Friday (Nov. 23) | $816 | $1,042 | 26% |
*Corresponding days based on corresponding shopping days (November 3 through November 25, 2011). Source: comScore, Inc.
Amazon was the top website among online retails on Black Friday. Nearly 57.3 million Americans visited online retail sites on Black Friday, representing an increase of 18 percent versus year ago. Amazon ranked as the most visited online retail site on Black Friday while also posting the highest year-over-year visitor growth rate among the top five retailers.
Most Visited Retailer Properties on Black Friday Excludes Auction Sites (e.g. eBay) Black Friday 2012 vs. Black Friday 2011 | |
Retail Property | |
1 | Amazon |
2 | Walmart |
3 | Best Buy |
4 | Target |
5 | Apple |
Source: comScore, Inc.
"With Black Friday online sales up 26 percent and surpassing $1 billion for the first time, coupled with early reports indicating that Black Friday sales in retail stores were down 1.8 percent, we can now confidently call it a multi-channel marketing phenomenon. With Thanksgiving now behind us and most consumers returning to work tomorrow, we can look forward with anticipation to Cyber Monday, which according to norms we've observed over the past three years should be the heaviest online shopping day of the season with sales approaching $1.5 billion or even higher," Fulgoni said.
The Apparel & Accessories category had a very strong Black Friday to rank as the #1 category for online spending on that day, accounting for more than a quarter of all dollars spent. The category has historically ranked #2 behind Computer Hardware, as it did on Black Friday 2011.
For the holiday season-to-date, Digital Content & Subscriptions is leading the way as the top-growing online retail product category (up 29 percent versus year ago) as the rapid adoption of smartphones, tablets and e-readers continues to drive demand for digital books, audio and video content. Toys are also performing well online thus far with a gain of 27 percent, followed by Consumer Packaged Goods (up 23 percent), Video Game Consoles & Accessories (up 18 percent) and Consumer Electronics (up 18 percent).
