And while no single day's sales have topped the $1 billion mark yet this year, three have topped $900 million. And comScore expects “to see that spending threshold eclipsed numerous times during the post-Thanksgiving period,” says Andrew Lipsman, comScore VP/marketing & insights, in its release. “Black Friday and Cyber Monday can both be expected to easily surpass that total, with Cyber Monday already beginning to point toward $2 billion.”
Last year, spending also rose 14%, with 12 days topping the $1 billion mark.
The Reston, Va.-based company, which measures many aspects of the digital world, says that thus far, shoppers have already spent $18.9 billion via desktop computers -- a 14% jump from the same period a year ago.
The company says its prediction is tempered by the season’s shorter, 26-day period -- adding that Hanukkah, which begins in November this year, has pulled some spending forward “and likely added a boost to the early November shopping period.” But it says its forecast “still represents a strong outlook versus last year that highlights the continued channel shift to online.”
Earlier this week, Forrester issued its forecast -- predicting a gain of around 15%, with total spending expected to reach $78.7 billion.