ComScore reported its final holiday season U.S. retail ecommerce spending from desktop computers for the full November-December 2013 holiday season this week, showing that $46.5 billion was spent online from desktop devices, an increase of 10 percent vs. year ago.
That 10-percent figure was lower than the 14 percent forecast by ComScore, which attributed the shortened holiday calendar and a lagging final week of spending to the under-performance.
ComScore chairman Gian Fulgoni said, “Although the 2013 holiday season fell short of our initial forecast, it still performed very well in certain regards. Achieving a double-digit growth rate while significantly outperforming the growth of brick-and-mortar retail by a factor of at least two is noteworthy, particularly considering the inherent challenges in this unusual holiday season.”
“Ultimately, it seems that spending softness relative to expectations was mainly the result of the compressed holiday calendar.” He noted that many consumers continue to be challenged economically, which forced retailers to offer large price discounts in an attempt to stimulate demand. “Unfortunately, this also had the effect of reducing total dollar sales since consumers could buy more for less,” he said.
Among the interesting data comScore released was the following:
- Cyber Monday was the number-one spending day for the 4th consecutive year.
- Including purchasing from mobile devices, Cyber Monday reached the $2 billion threshold, the first time such a spending level has been attained in a single day.
- Apparel & Accessories ranked as the top-gaining product category with a gain of more than 13 percent vs. year ago and outpacing Consumer Electronics (bolstered by smartphone sales) by a razor thin margin.
- Computer Hardware (bolstered by tablet sales) ranked third by fractions of a percentage point, while Toys & Hobbies and Video Game Consoles & Accessories rounded out the top five.
ComScore also revealed the top-10 heaviest online spending days for 2013, each surpassing $1 billion in desktop spending. Cyber Monday (Dec. 2) saw a record $1.735 billion, the day’s 4th consecutive year it has held the #1 position.
Tuesday, Dec. 3 ranked second with $1.410 billion, followed by Green Monday (Dec. 9) with $1.401 billion.
