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RAPAPORT... U.S. online retail sales for November 1 through December 9 rose 9 percent year on year to $31.55 billion, according to comScore Inc. The most recent promotional day, Green Monday, which was December 9, tallied a 10 percent year- on-year increase in sales to $1.4 billion. So far this Christmas season, the biggest online spending day has been December 2, Cyber Monday, with sales of $1.74 billion, according to comScore.  “Online buying for the period since Thanksgiving has been very strong and indicates that ecommerce is on track to meet expectations,” said comScore's chairman, Gian Fulgoni. “While Green Monday saw a strong desktop spending total of $1.4 billion, its 10 percent year over year growth rate might at first seem somewhat underwhelming, given the growth rates we’ve seen for other important days this season.” Fulgoni observed that since there are fewer days to shop between Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Eve this year compared with 2012, shoppers appear to be completing more of their online buying during the weekends – with the weekend of December 7 boasting an exceptional 71 percent gain from 2012.
''The weekend is typically a lighter period of online buying than during workdays, but the weekend surges we’re seeing may be attributable to the effects of showrooming, with the in-store shopping experience increasingly getting disrupted by comparison shopping on mobile phones, leading to more conversions online after leaving the store,'' Fulgoni said. ''Of course, it’s also likely that many consumers realize the holiday spending clock is ticking and are urgently buying their gifts whenever they have time. And that, in turn, works to the benefit of ecommerce.''
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