Figures show Cyber Monday still biggest US online sales day

NEW YORK – Cyber Monday is still on top. Reports from two research firms show that the Monday after Thanksgiving was still the busiest U.S. online shopping day of the holiday season.

Research firm comScore said Wednesday that desktop computer spending on Monday rose 17 per cent to $2.67 billion. It didn’t give a figure for shopping done on tablets or smartphones, which is an increasing part of the market. Since Nov. 1, sales have risen 12 per cent to $29.7 billion compared with the same period a year ago, comScore said.

Amazon.com was the busiest site, followed by sites for retailers Walmart, Kohl’s and Target.

“Overall, we are very encouraged by the recent pickup in spending growth and particularly strong Black Friday and Cyber Monday,” comScore CEO Gian Fulgoni said.

Adobe Digital Insights had said Tuesday that Americans spent $3.45 billion online on Cyber Monday. That’s up 12.1 per cent from a year ago, a larger growth than it expected by 2.6 percentage points. According to Adobe, the top-selling electronics by units on Monday included the Sony PlayStation 4, Microsoft Xbox, Samsung 4K TVs, the Apple iPhone and Amazon Fire. The top-selling toys included Lego sets, Nerf, Shopkins, Barbie and Pie Face Game.

Cyber Monday has been the biggest online shopping day of the year since 2010, but other days, particularly the day after Thanksgiving known as Black Friday, are gaining ground as people have grown more connected online and store spread their deals out and offer them earlier.