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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Cyber Monday spending exceeds $2 billion

Associated Press

NEW YORK – Online shoppers set a single-day spending record on Cyber Monday, despite deals being stretched out this holiday season.

Online sales Monday jumped 17 percent from last year, totaling nearly $2.04 billion, research firm comScore Inc. said Tuesday. That represents the heaviest online spending day in history and the first to surpass $2 billion in sales, said the firm, which tracks online sales.

Retailers from Target to Amazon have been offering online deals since the beginning of November and are promising “cyber” deals all week.

Some anticipated the extended period would hurt Cyber Monday sales. And the lackluster start to the holiday shopping season in brick-and-mortar stores also lowered expectations. But shoppers appeared to be eager to go online.

The weekend after Thanksgiving was popular for online shopping too, with sales up 26 percent compared to the same weekend last year. The two-day period raked in $2.01 billion in online sales, according to comScore.

“Any notion that Cyber Monday is declining in importance is really unfounded, as it continues to post new historical highs and reflects the ongoing strength of online this holiday season,” comScore Chairman Emeritus Gian Fulgoni said.

Other organizations measured a more muted response for the day: IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark reported that online sales rose 8.5 percent this year compared to last on Cyber Monday. That is less stellar growth than last year’s, when IBM says online sales jumped more than 20 percent by its measure.

Some retailers painted a rosy picture of the day. Walmart.com said it received the most online orders in its history on Cyber Monday.