Cyber Monday 2012 Declared Heaviest Online Spending Day in U.S. History

Scary things happen on Black Friday, like the angry mosh pit that broke out at Walmart over low priced cell phones. In the words of Sweet Brown, "Ain't nobody got time for that!" We hear you Sweet Brown, which is why we're big fans of Cyber Monday, the busiest online shopping day of the year. According to data by comScore, American deal seekers spent $1.46 billion on Cyber Monday this year, which qualifies as the heaviest U.S. online spending day in the history of mankind.

"Despite some news reports suggesting that Cyber Monday might be declining in importance, the day has once again set an online spending record at nearly $1.5 billion," said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni. "However, it is also clear that the holiday promotional period has begun even earlier this year, with strong online sales occurring on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday. Now, we shall see the extent to which continuing and attractive retailer promotions are able to boost sales for the remainder of the week."

Online Shopping
It would probably help if he turned his laptop on. Image Source: Flickr (Elvert Barnes)

Indeed, retailers are pushing out discounts earlier than ever. From November 1-26, online shoppers spent nearly $16.4 billion, a 16 percent increase over last year. Cyber Monday's spending increased 17 percent versus a year ago, while Black Friday accounted for $1.04 billion in online sales, up 28 percent year-on-year.

Not all of these sales took place at home. In fact, it was a virtual tie between shopping at home (including Universities) and while at work at 47.2 percent and 47.1 percent, respectively. Another 5.7 percent shopped online from International locations.