Late Season Surge in Online Holiday Buying

"Retailers have been aggressive this year with their online marketing efforts, targeting consumers with early-season promotions," said Gian Fulgoni, chairman of comScore Networks. "And now they're looking to finish off the season strong by tempting consumers to continue shopping online later, with guarantees of on-time delivery for items purchased as late as December 18."

"The growth rate of online retail spending accelerated during the latter part of last week, with sales on Friday, December 15 growing 38 percent versus the corresponding day last year," Mr. Fulgoni added. "This demonstrates consumers' willingness to rely on retailers' late-season shipping guarantees."

On Monday, December 11, consumers set a single-day record for online spending with $661 million. Two days later, that record was broken as consumers spent $667 million online. Importantly, the growth rate versus year ago accelerated toward the end of the week, demonstrating that consumers are continuing to shop online later this season.

"Last week, online spending rose to its highest point of the year," said Mr. Fulgoni. "Several records were set, including the highest single-day of e-commerce spending ever on Wednesday, December 13 when consumers spent $667 million online, up 29-percent versus the corresponding day last year. Later shipping deadlines this season and the fact that many consumers received a paycheck on December 15 could keep online sales in full swing early next week."