The most recent week (weekend ending Dec.17) reached $5.15 billion in spending, an increase of 14 percent compared to the same week last year, with four individual days surpassing $900 million, led by Green Monday (Monday, December 13) with $954 million and Free Shipping Day (Friday, December 17) with $942 million. Free Shipping Day achieved a 61-percent increase versus the corresponding shopping day last year, highlighting the appeal and success of the promotion in which more than 1,500 merchants offered free shipping.

“Free Shipping Day punctuated an exceptional week in which consumers spent more than $5.5 billion online, representing a 14-percent increase from last year,” said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni.

“While no individual days during the week surpassed $1 billion in spending, we saw strength throughout the week beginning with Green Monday and ending with Free Shipping Day on Friday. At this late juncture in the online holiday season, we have likely already witnessed the peak spending day of the year, which means that Cyber Monday should emerge as the season’s heaviest online spending day for the first time in history.”

comScore’s analysis of e-commerce transactions including free shipping indicated that consumers took advantage of the offer later into the season this year, in part due to the appeal of Free Shipping Day on Friday, Dec. 17. 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. For the five-day week ending with Free Shipping Day, the percentage of transactions with free shipping reached 52.7 percent, 12 percentage points higher than the corresponding time period last year, the most sizeable gap observed this season.

“Free shipping has certainly become one of the prevalent themes of the 2010 holiday season,” added Mr. Fulgoni. “Since the week before Thanksgiving, we’ve seen the majority of online retail transactions use free shipping, which confirms the appeal of the offer for consumers.”

“Free Shipping Day also appears to have driven a sustained late-season response, with free shipping transactions accelerating in importance in 2010 whereas they actually began to decline during the same period in 2009.”

Computer Hardware ranks as the top growing category for the holiday season to date with a 25-percent increase over last year. Purchases of handheld devices (such as Apple iPads and e-readers) and laptop computers drove much of the growth. Attractive pricing on flat panel TVs continues to drive growth in consumer electronics, which grew 22 percent to rank as the second fastest-growing category. Books & Magazines (up 21 percent), Computer Software excluding PC Games (up 16 percent) and Toys (up 15 percent) rounded out the top five gaining categories.

The free shipping offer includes all electronics, select video games, toys, home appliances, furniture, jewelry, and baby items.

"Customers are doing all they can to save money this holiday, so we’re excited to offer free shipping to home, with no minimum purchase requirement as an early Christmas present to them," said Steve Nave, senior vice president and general manager of Walmart.com.

"This limited-time free shipping to home offer on nearly 60,000 select items, including all electronics, is just one of the ways Walmart.com is helping families save money so they can bring home more for less this holiday season."

Eligible items are shipped for free via standard shipping and delivered to customers’ doors within 3-5 business days after the order is processed. Return shipping is also free, or customers can return online orders to a local Walmart store.

The online retailer has introduced free two-day shipping , or a $10 credit towards a future purchase for Amazon Prime members, when they use a MasterCard to buy $75 or more in eligible items from the Holiday Toy List.

The Holiday Toy List features navigation tools that allow users to narrow and expand search results. Users can sort by “bestselling,” “price” or “average customer review,” then filter by age, category, gender, price range, discount and brand.

“At Amazon we are focused on making holiday shopping simple and cost effective for parents, friends and family members,” said Sarah Wood, director of the Toy & Games Store for Amazon.com.

“We know saving money is very important to our customers, and now when they use their MasterCard to purchase select items from the Holiday Toy List they can get faster shipping at no additional cost.”

All Barnes & Noble Members orders will be automatically upgraded to Free Express Shipping and will arrive in three business days or less, with no minimum purchase required and no limits.

"Extending Free Express Shipping with no minimum on BN.com is yet another way to provide our millions of Members with more benefits and reasons to shop, both at BN.com or in our more than 700 stores across the country," said Marc Parrish, vice president of Retention and Loyalty Marketing for Barnes & Noble.

"Now Members will enjoy all the in-store benefits of Membership, plus Unlimited Free Express Shipping on millions of great items on BN.com, still for the low cost of $25 per year."

In store members will still be eligible to receive discounts of 40 percent off list price on hardcover bestsellers, 20 percent of regular hardcovers, and an extra 10 percent discount off items such as music, DVDs, and all caf items.
 

The company is also offering free two day shipping for Kindle orders placed today. Last week Amazon said its Kindle broke another record with its best sales day. The company did not provide any specific sales figures.

Amazon boasts that its Kindle continues to be the most wished for, most gifted and best selling product across the company.

"It’s easy to get busy during the holidays, so we’ve decided to make it easy even for procrastinators to order Kindle, the #1 most wished for gift on Amazon, and get it delivered for free and in time for Christmas," said Ian Freed, Vice President, Amazon Kindle.

"With Kindle, you can give the gift of choosing over 390,000 books and more than 100 top newspapers and magazines from around the world and begin reading in less than 60 seconds."

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The most recent week got off to a slightly sluggish start, with sales of $854 million on Green Monday (Dec.14) down 1 percent compared to a year ago, but was followed by three strong spending days that each surpassed $800 million. Tuesday, December 15 was a record spending day reaching $913 million, the first such day to surpass the $900 million mark.

"Going into this most recent week, we had anticipated that Monday or Tuesday would post the highest online spending total of the season and perhaps be the first day on record to surpass $900 million," said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni. "Despite a disappointing start to the week, with sales on Monday of $854 million down 1 percent versus 2008, we were encouraged to see spending continue strongly throughout the balance of the work week, led by Tuesday’s record $913 million."

"In fact, each day through Thursday December 17 – the last day that many online retailers would guarantee free shipping in time for Christmas – saw at least $800 million in spending, which suggests that savvy consumers may have been waiting for those last-minute deals."

The second heaviest spending day was Cyber Monday (Nov.30) with $887 million, the highest it has ever ranked, followed by Tuesday, December 1, with $866 million in spending.

"In a typical year, Cyber Monday tends to be the eighth to tenth heaviest spending day, but this year it moved higher up the list than ever before," added. Mr. Fulgoni.

"In part, this is due to the fact that the day fell fairly late in the season, so that pent up consumer demand likely boosted its performance, but also because of the increasing marketing hoopla and promotional activity that surround the day."

Free shipping has remained a key driver of online shopping throughout the holiday season. During each week, at least 45 percent of all transactions included free shipping. The peak occurred during the week ending December 6, with 50 percent of all transactions including free shipping.

The average order value for online transactions peaked at $117 during the week ending November 29, and the week ending December 6, outpacing the corresponding weeks in 2008. For the week ending November 29, the average order value for transactions including free shipping was $124 while the average order for those without free shipping was $111. For the week ending December 6, the average order value for transactions including free shipping was $134 while the average order for those without free shipping was a much lower $103.
 

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Nearly two thirds (62.3%) of retailers’ shipping deadlines for Christmas delivery will fall on or before December 18, with 34 percent of shipping deadlines occurring on December 18 itself.

Many of the busiest online shopping days of the year are set to take place this week as shoppers go online to make holiday purchases in order to meet impending shipping deadlines.

"Online shoppers don’t need to deal with long lines, store hours or winter weather, but they do need to plan ahead," said Scott Silverman, Executive Director of Shop.org.

"To entice online shoppers on a budget, many retailers will offer special sales and promotions as shipping deadlines near."

Shoppers looking to save on shipping should also be aware of December 18, as 17.9 percent of retailers said that would be the last day they would offer a free shipping promotion for holiday gifts.

According to shop.org’s eHoliday survey, released in October, the majority (79.4%) of online retailers will offer free shipping with conditions at some point during the holiday season, while more than half (57.4%) also plan to offer free shipping without conditions. The popular promotion is one element driving shoppers online, with 33.1 percent of holiday shoppers planning to spend more on the Internet this holiday season because of free shipping.

"In this economy, shoppers are taking a look at the entire purchase price – including shipping – before deciding where to shop," said Phil Rist, Executive Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, BIGresearch.

"Though free shipping isn’t "free" for retailers, companies know these promotions can set themselves apart from their competition and are relying on them more heavily to bring in shoppers."

For shoppers who miss standard shipping deadlines they may be still able to use expedited shipping from some retailers. More than half (54.2%) of online retailers will offer overnight shipping options for Christmas delivery through December 23.
 

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The most recent week saw three individual days surpass $800 million in spending, led by Cyber Monday with $887 million in spending, matching the heaviest online spending day on record. The following Tuesday nearly matched the Cyber Monday total with $886 million in spending, while Thursday, December 3 reached $808 million in spending.

"Cyber Monday, which kicked off the most recent work week matching an all-time spending record with $887 million in spending, was followed by several other strong online spending days helping to accelerate the growth rate for the season-to-date to 4 percent," said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni.

"Two categories that have been contributing strongly to this growth are consumer electronics and computer hardware, both achieving growth rates well into the double-digits so far, with e-readers, GPS devices, digital cameras, flat-panel TVs and laptops among the most popular sellers. We have now passed the halfway point of the season with the 4 percent growth in online spending to date slightly exceeding comScore’s forecast of an overall 3 percent growth rate for the entire season. It will be interesting to see if the encouraging growth continues as we head into the busiest days of the season. Nonetheless, I do expect that we will see the industry’s first $900 million online spending day during this next critical week of the season."

An analysis of the top 25 online retailers found a sales growth rate of 13 percent through November, while smaller retailers experienced a year-over- year decline of 10 percent. The larger retailers grabbed 64 percent of all dollars spent during the period, a 6 percent increase from last year.

"It’s pretty clear that the larger, established retailers have an overall competitive advantage during a recession," added Mr. Fulgoni. "Not only are they better equipped to meet the price demands of cash-strapped consumers, but they are also able to maintain their marketing investments and gain consumer mindshare.

"Both Amazon and Walmart come to mind as online retailers that appear to be benefitting from this dynamic during this holiday season. To be clear, I’m not saying that all smaller retailers are struggling, but, taken as whole, the smaller retailer segment is clearly underperforming this season."

Free shipping has become increasingly important during the 2009 holiday season. During the week ending November 22, transactions that include free shipping accounted for 50 percent of all online sales, an 11 percent increase over last year.

Importantly, the average order value for orders including free shipping has been 15 percent higher than those without free shipping, which indicates that retailers have been successful in using minimum spending thresholds for free shipping to persuade consumers to spend more per order.
 

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Unsurprisingly, there is an uptick in searches for all of these things, indicating that this is the stuff consumers are after for their holiday shopping. Such data serves as a great indicator that e-commerce businesses should be providing this stuff if at all possible. Without such deals, online businesses stand to lose out on sales to competitors that do offer them.

According to Google, 87% of consumers plan to take advantage of price discounts or sales this holiday season and 73% plan to take advantage of free shipping.

"Though not all retailers offer free shipping, discounts, or other rebates, know that these value propositions resonate with consumers so begin thinking about how your company or product is providing value and incorporate that messaging into your online marketing campaigns," says Eric Lopez of Google’s Retail team. "Consumers are eagerly looking for a reason to buy from you."

Searches for coupons have been growing this year, even more so than last year when the recession was at its worst level. According to Google, 68% of consumers report that they plan on taking advantage of coupons this season. The same goes for promotional codes, which has increased (as a query) by as much as 55% year-over-year.

"With growing interest, ensure you are advertising your coupons, coupon codes, and promo codes to capture increased search volume," says Lopez.

Google’s data reflects that of Deloitte’s, which found that about a quarter of consumers will shop primarily online this year and many are using the Internet to find special offers, with 44% expecting to use a coupon they get online.

In fact, that study had a lot of interesting statistics that online retailers may want to consider before it’s too late. Read here.

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To attract shoppers to its Denim Shop, Amazon is offering free shipping on some men and women’s jeans. It is also offering shoppers free returns for purchases that for whatever reason don’t work out. Customers will have up to 30 days to return their jeans for a full refund.

In the terms and conditions part of the site Amazon says the free shipping and free returns will be available for a limited time only. The company does not say when that offer will expire but most likely sometime after the holiday season.

The Denim Shop features over 40 brands of jeans including both traditional brands such as Levi’s and designer names such as Rock & Republic and 7 For All Mankind.

Jeans on the Denim Shop range in price from $18 to $280. Visitors to the site can search by fit, price, brand, color and size.

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