The past week experienced the heaviest five-day online shopping period in U.S. history, according to a report stemming from market analyst ComScore.
During the week of December 8 through till the 14th, U.S. consumers spent a total of $6.9 billion online, representing an 11 percent increase over 2011.
"This past workweek saw four days surpass the billion dollar spending threshold during the heaviest five-day online shopping period on record," ComScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni said. "With this most recent week in the books, the peak spending period may now be in our rear-view-mirror."
Ultimately, consumers have spent $33.8 billion online during the holiday shopping season thus far, which is a 13 percent increase over the same period last year. Retailers have accumulated more than $1 billion in sales in 11 days.
Fulgoni suggested that the record online shopping is expected to be continued; he foresees "Free Shipping Day" on December 17 to see an influx of consumers ordering gifts in order to see them delivered in time for Christmas.
This year's Black Friday in particular recorded online sales of $1.042 billion, representing a record due to a 26 percent increase in spending online compared to last year's Black Friday. Online shopping on Thanksgiving Day also increased with sales of $633 million, a 32 percent increase from last year.
The following week of Cyber Monday, meanwhile, saw online spending reaching over $1 billion for three days. Cyber Monday itself set an online spending record in one day with $1.46 billion.
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Zak Islam is a freelance writer focusing on security, networking, and general computing. His work also appears at Digital Trends and Tom's Guide.
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kcorp2003 i'm not part of that statistics this year just saving my money for master's degree ;)Reply -
chewy1963 Other than a couple minor gifts (stocking stuffers), I did all my Christmas shopping online this year. Beats the heck out fighting to find what I want in cramped overcrowded physical stores.Reply -
g00fysmiley i guess my $17 spent on more creatine powder helped.... btu yea online shopping for the holidays jus tmakes sense i shop local when possible and when the people running the shops aren't assholes (sadly not easy to find ones who don't complain that i won't put up with a 50-100% markup so they can keep their doors open when they are driving a bmw and wearing a rolex)Reply -
acadia11 I thought the economy sucked? Man, christmas has become the greatest creation of corporate America!Reply