US Online Holiday Spending Surges on “Green Monday”
US online spending surged to a record $881 million on December 10, dubbed “Green Monday” by eBay and touted as the heaviest online spending day of the holiday season.
According the latest data from comScore, the surge boosted spending for the holiday season to date by 19% from last year to top $20 billion. ComScore is forecasting total holiday season spending to increase by 20% over 2006.
Meanwhile, Deloitte’s Leading Index of Consumer Spending fell sharply this month, primarily due to continued falling home prices.
We continue to have a modest outlook for the holiday season, and expect continued uncertainty headed into the new year.
The index, comprising four components—tax burden, initial unemployment claims, real wages and real home prices—fell to 2.64%, from an upwardly revised loss of 3.47% a month ago.
Deloitte recommends retailers declare an official Gift Card Redemption Day, when using a gift card entitles shoppers to a percentage off, a free gift or another promotion.
Gift Card Redemption Day will enable retailers to recognize the revenues from unredeemed gift cards, while encouraging consumers to use the gift cards they receive during this holiday season as well as unused cards they have received previously.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.