Cyber Monday Helps Online Retailer Shares Climb As Spending Per Order Shrinks
Cyber Monday was a resounding success for online shops eager to climb out of the red with awesome deals on everything from hardware and electronics to clothing and toys.
According to data from e-commerce firm ChannelAdvisor, eBay share climbed 4.9 percent to close at $51.40. Amazon also witnessed a stock price increase of 1.6 percent to $243.62.
By 3:00 pm EST on Monday, sales were up 25.6 percent compared to the year prior, leading ComScore to predict $1.5 billion by day’s end.
IBM examined data from 500 US retail websites to determine that year-over-year growth was up by 15 percent by 3:00 pm.
According to ChannelAdvisor, sales generated by third-party merchants using the company’s software soared 57 percent on eBay.com when compared to 2011 numbers.
Most promising may be the five times increase in overall sales compared to last year’s growth numbers, signaling that customers are more readily turning to online sales.
Also reporting a three time gain was PayPal, which reported its mobile transactions levels by 2:00 pm EST.
Client sales on Amazon.com also receive a huge boost, increasing by 52 percent during the first half of Cyber Monday.
Holiday sales were benefited this year by Amazon’s $30 off pricing for its $159 Kindle Fire tablet and from eBay’s massive sales volume from after market Nintendo Wii U devices. In eBay’s case, the company benefits from hard to find items that sold on the auction site for 10 percent to 20 percent above regular market value.
While Black Friday sales numbers have increased in 2012, analysts are worried that deep discounts may have hurt online retailers’ profit margins. Pointing to margin problems, IBM notes that Cyber Monday sales averaged just $130.30 compared to $200 in 2011. However, online digital product buyers may have helped some online retailers since many digital goods cost less to procure and involve no added shipping costs.
Full Black Friday sales estimates will be revealed in the coming days.
