comScore: Green Monday sales surge past $1.2b

Black Friday ($1.042 billion), Cyber Monday ($1.465 billion) and Green Monday ($1.275 billion) are the top spending days; the Thanksgiving Weekend also holds a record, coming in at $1.187 billion.

"Green Monday kicked off this critical week for online holiday shopping with a strong total of $1.275 billion, marking a 13-percent gain from last year," said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni. "While Green Monday remains a very important day for the season, as consumers have gained confidence with on-time shipment delivery, there is perhaps less urgency than there once was to make those final purchases at least two weeks in advance of Christmas Day. What we've seen over the past few years is a tendency for heavy spending to continue late into the week of Green Monday and right up until Free Shipping Day, which this year falls on December 17."

The Green Monday online spend was led by more shoppers hitting online outlets and spending more per purchase than in year's past. The per-transaction spend was up 5% while the number of shoppers looking for Green Monday savings increased 7% year over year (YoY).

Meanwhile, the National Retail Federation suggests retailers will be pushing package delivery right up to the last minute, hoping to engage a few more shoppers. Shop.org reports that most retailers will end shipping specials by next Monday (December 17) but a few (5.7%) will push shipping offers through December 21, hoping to appeal to last minute gift-givers.

Tags: 2012 holiday spend, comScore, ecommerce spending, ecommerce trends, National Retail Federation