As many predicted, last week’s online spending boomed as consumers scurried to take advantage of free shipping deals set to expire on the weekend. According to Reston-based comScore, last week was the heaviest week of online spending in U.S. history as four days eclipsed $900 million each.
Total online holiday spending to-date (47 days in November and December) is $27.5 billion, a 12 percent increase so far over last year.
Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving, remains the only $1 billion day on record and is likely to become the heaviest spending day of the year for the first time. Typically, the heaviest online spending day falls during the week before Christmas.
But that’s not to say retailers weren’t raking it in last week. Two days came close to Cyber Monday’s $1 billion in sales —Monday, Dec. 13 totaled $954 million and Friday, Dec. 17 totaled $942 million. Online consumers spent more than $5.5 billion total during the week.
Free shipping incentives have a lot to do with the boom, according to comScore. Each of the past five weeks has seen free shipping on at least half of transactions, while that threshold was reached only once during the 2009 season, the company said.
