Reports: Black Friday, Cyber Monday attract international crowds

"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."

The biggest sellers included digital content/subscriptions, consumer electronics and computer hardware.

Meanwhile, eXelate suggests the bigger change is that shoppers are moving to mobile more quickly than in year's past. Black Friday in the US has been a traditional brick-and-mortar shopping day, but this year mobile more than half (52%) of iPhone users and 11% of Android users shopping online Black Friday.

"The tradition of Football on Thanksgiving Day might be replaced by couch-potato shopping if retailers continue promote holiday shopping earlier," said Mark S. Zagorski, CEO of eXelate. "Today's advanced e-commerce technology enables multitasking and multiscreen consumers to benefit from the best of both worlds - watching the National Football League games on the big screen while simultaneously shopping for advertised products on their digital devices. We believe that 2013 will see an even greater shift toward mobile shopping and that all five days spanning Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday will even out as the notion of the Black Weekend becomes a reality."

And the trend to shop isn't just an American one, according to FiftyOne global shoppers turned out in droves between the US Black Friday/Cyber Monday shopping days. Colombian shoppers spent eleven times more than average over the weekend; the average transaction was $337 at luxury department stores.

"More global consumers than ever before logged on to shop U.S. retailers this past Black Friday through Cyber Monday shopping weekend, and for the first time, FiftyOne saw a majority of its merchants actively market to and engage their international audience," said Michael DeSimone, CEO, FiftyOne. "The international opportunity is immense, and FiftyOne partners with American retailers to extend their ecommerce operations, build brand awareness, and grow sales in over 100 countries worldwide."

One-quarter (27%) of global shoppers said the completed at least one online transaction over the holiday weekend.

Tags: 2012 shopping trends, comScore, ecommerce trends, eXelate, mcommerce, mobile marketing