Holiday online spending up 15% as Green Monday hits

Computerworld - Online holiday spending is up 15% so far this year, with Americans shelling out nearly $25 billion, according to online traffic monitor ComScore.

The ComScore report was released at the start of Green Monday, the second Monday in December and typically one of the biggest online spending days during the busiest week of the holiday buying season. Online retailers are hoping to see a big surge in traffic.

So far this year, holiday e-commerce spending has been strong, according to ComScore. For the first 39 days of the holiday season, spanning from the beginning of November into December, U.S. shoppers have spent $24.6 billion online, and there are still about two weeks to go before Christmas.

"The most recent week of the online holiday shopping season saw growth rates remain in line with the season-to-date at 15% and three individual spending days eclipse the $1 billion threshold," said ComScore chairman Gian Fulgoni, in a statement. "These highlights represent another very positive sign for the holiday shopping season, as the week following 'Cyber Week' often experiences relative softness in spending momentum due to retailers pulling back on their promotional activity."

Fulgoni added that he expects to see Green Monday generate big sales numbers.

In 2010, Green Monday was the second biggest online spending day of the year, with $954 million in sales.

However, Green Monday is getting some stiff competition. This year, Nov. 28 -- which was the Monday after Thanksgiving, or Cyber Monday -- became the heaviest online spending day in history, bringing in $1.25 billion. Six days in total this season have crested the $1 billion threshold.

"All signs are now pointing to a strong finish to the season," Fulgoni added.

And that's not surprising considering that three out of 10 Americans are expected to do most of their holiday shopping online, according to a Harris poll.

Sharon Gaudin covers the Internet and Web 2.0, emerging technologies, and desktop and laptop chips for Computerworld. Follow Sharon on Twitter at @sgaudin, or subscribe to Sharon's RSS feed . Her email address is sgaudin@computerworld.com.

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