Investing

Holiday E-Commerce Revenue Surge Stays At 15%

The 15% improvement in e-commerce which began with the Black Friday weekend has continued at a nearly identical pace since then. Some analysts were concerned the American consumer would spend whatever money he had early in the holiday season and this would cause December sales to falter. That has not happened.

comScore reported today holiday season retail e-commerce spending for the first 46 days of the November – December 2011 holiday season. For the holiday season-to-date, $30.9 billion has been spent online, marking a 15-percent increase versus the corresponding days last year. The most recent work week (Dec. 12-16) saw four individual days surpass $1 billion in spending, led by Green Monday (Monday, December 12) with $1.13 billion and Free Shipping Day (Friday, December 16) with $1.07 billion. With the heaviest portion of the season behind us, Cyber Monday appears likely to rank as the heaviest online spending day of the year for the second consecutive season.

The National Federation of Retailers has also revised its sales estimates higher for the holidays. a proof that bricks-and-mortar store sales have strengthened as the number of weeks to Christmas drop.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Cash Back Credit Cards Have Never Been This Good

Credit card companies are at war, handing out free rewards and benefits to win the best customers. A good cash back card can be worth thousands of dollars a year in free money, not to mention other perks like travel, insurance, and access to fancy lounges. See our top picks for the best credit cards today. You won’t want to miss some of these offers.

Flywheel Publishing has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Flywheel Publishing and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.