Report: Record Cyber Monday Sales

Online Cyber Monday sales jumped 30.3% over 2011 as more consumers used mobile devices to shop for deals, IBM says

By George Winslow -- Broadcasting & Cable, 11/27/2012 1:40:17 PM

Cyber Monday online shopping spending reached record levels on Nov. 26, jumping 30.3% over 2011 according to the IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark, which tracks transactions at around 500 U.S. retailers.

The report also highlighted a notable spike in the usage of mobile devices for online shopping. More than 18% of consumers used a mobile device to visit a retailer's site and mobile sales hit nearly 13%, a 96% jump from 2011, according to IBM.

Tablets were particularly important, with the iPad accounting for over 7% of online traffic, more than any other tablet or smartphone, followed by iPhones (6.9%) and Android devices (4.5%), the IBM data showed.

Social media, however, played a less important role. IBM reported that shoppers referred from social media networks accounted for only 0.41% of sales, down 26% from 2011.

Those figures bolstered other very positive reports of Thanksgiving weekend sales.

Earlier the National Retail Federation (NRF) reported that some 247 million shoppers visited retail stores and websites, spending some $59.1 billion over the Black Friday weekend.

The NRF also released data from a survey conducted for Shop.org by BIGinsight prior to Cyber Monday that predicted some 128.2 million people planned to shop online during Cyber Monday, up from 122.8 million in 2011 and 106.9 million in 2010.

This survey, which was conducted on Nov. 23 and 24, also found much higher use of mobile devices for shopping, with 20.8% reporting they planned to search for deals on Cyber Monday with their mobile devices.

The strong sales bode well for the overall health of the economy and consumer sentiment, which is still the main driver of economic growth in the U.S.

The figures are good news for broadcasters who have been expanding their digital distribution efforts as the booming sales of tablets and other consumer electronic devices will expand the number of people who can access video on the go.

No detailed breakdowns of sales by category were available for Cyber Monday sales but Amazon announced record sales of its Kindle tablets, Reuters has reported.

The NRF also reported heavy interest in electronics goods over the Thanksgiving weekend, with 33.0% reporting shopping at an electronics stores. Among the consumers who were looking for gifts, 37.7% said they acquired electronics and 39.8% acquired books, CDs, DVDs or video games.

Networks that are planning to expand their e-commerce efforts on second screen apps will also be encouraged by the dramatic growth in mobile devices to buy consumer goods.

But the trend towards strong online isn't necessarily good news in the long run for stations and other programmers that rely on local advertising from the brick and mortar stores that have been steadily losing market share to online retailers. That shift in buying habits has already hurt the bottom line at major advertisers like Best Buy.