The Monday following this year’s Thanksgiving, also known as Cyber Monday, was the highest-grossing online shopping day in U.S. history. According to research firm comScore, spending reached $1.25 billion, an increase of 22% from last year’s Cyber Monday — and the previous record. According to a study by the National Retail Federation, 37.8% of overall retail spending over Thanksgiving weekend was online. While more money is still spent at bricks-and-mortar retailers, online spending continues to grow at a much faster rate. 24/7 Wall St. has identified eight online retailers that are selling directly to customers and giving traditional competitors a run for their money.

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Many of the reasons for the success of these retailers are the same. It’s far easier to find specialty items online. Until recently, designer goods were only available at high-end department stores and boutiques. Now, online-only stores like Bonobos and Warby Parker sell fashionable pants and eye glasses. These new stores also make shopping online easier, offering generous return policies and, in some cases, free shipping. Other online stores benefit from a limited number of specialty products.

While Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) is the biggest online retailer, its direct-to-customer sales of Kindle are especially hard on consumer electronic retailers like Best Buy (NYSE: BBY). Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) sells iPads and iPhones through mobile service providers like Verizon (NYSE: VZ), big-box retailers like Walmart (NYSE: WMT) and even its own stores. But this Black Friday it was Apple’s site that saw the fifth-most online traffic. The world’s biggest e-retailer has taken note. In 2009 and 2010, Amazon purchased two specialty sites, Zappos.com and Diapers.com.

1. Gilt Groupe
> Product: clothing
> Competition: Bloomingdale’s, Bergdorf Goodman

Gilt Groupe is the dominant source for flash sales — limited-time, high-discount online sales. Before Gilt, short-term sales of high-end goods was a business dominated by stores such as Bloomingdale’s and Bergdorf Goodman. This is, of course, no longer the case. Gilt’s popularity will likely soon expand overseas, as well. As of November 2011, the company announced it is offering its services to 90 more countries.

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2. Apple
> Product: iPad/iPhone
> Competition: Best Buy, wireless stores

Although the Apple site only sells Apple products, it has become a major force among electronics retailers. This past Black Friday, Apple was the fifth-most trafficked retail site, according to comScore, after Target (NYSE: TGT), Best Buy, Walmart and Amazon. While many major big-box retailers carry Apple products, this year, it seems, shoppers opted to buy directly from the company.

3. Zappos
> Product: shoes
> Competition: Lord & Taylor

Zappos.com is the internet’s largest footwear retailer. In 2008, the company had $1 billion in sales. As with Diapers.com, Amazon recognized the site’s success — and potential for further success — and bought it for $1.2 billion in 2009. The site’s focus on customer service and popular deals — including free two-way shipping — have propelled it to the top of its sector.

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4. Steam
> Product: video games
> Competition: Best Buy

Steam has begun moving PC gaming away from traditional stores to online streaming, much in the way Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) did with movies. According to Forbes, only “Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony have larger footprints in the gamer community.” In 2010, the number of PC games sold via download outpaced sales of boxed games in stores for the first time ever, according to research firm NPD Group. In February 2010, Forbes reported that Steam controlled half to 70% of the $4 billion market for downloaded PC games.

5. Diapers.com
> Product: diapers
> Competition: Walmart

Diapers.com is the self-described “largest online baby care specialty site in the United States.” In December 2010, the site was acquired by Amazon.com, at which point Diapers.com had about half a million customers. According to a Reuters article published in November 2010, Amazon’s acquisition of Diapers.com posed a real threat to big-box retailers such as Walmart and Costco (NASDAQ: COST), which are major players in that market.

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6. Bonobos
> Product: men’s apparel
> Competition: Macy’s

Bonobos is a men’s apparel company, best known for its pants. Since its launch in 2007, the site has been extremely successful at making sales and raising funds. In December 2010, it received $18.5 million in funding. The company’s success is due partly to its products, and partly to its Zappos-like customer service system, which offers free shipping and an easy return policy. Site awareness has been driven by email, on-site messaging, ads and social media.

7. Amazon.com
> Product: Kindle
> Competition: Barnes & Noble, Best Buy

Amazon’s majority share of the U.S. book market has long been established. The company can take some of the credit for the bankruptcy of Borders Group. Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) is currently feeling pain due to the popularity of Amazon’s Kindle, which has continually outpaced the Nook in total sales. Amazon is also a threat to electronics companies such as Best Buy. According to a Wells Fargo study, Amazon beats bricks-and-mortar retailers across the board when it comes to average electronics prices.

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8. Warby Parker
> Product: eyewear
> Competition: Sunglass Hut, LensCrafters

Eyeglass company Warby Parker was a smash success immediately after its 2009 launch. According to Advertising Age, the company “hit its first-year sales target in three weeks, sold out of its top 15 styles and had a wait list of 20,000 customers after a month in business.” The company sells fashionable frames at a flat price of $95 and, for every pair sold, it donates a pair to people in need.

Charles B. Stockdale

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