comScore has released its official spending forecast for the November-December 2014 holiday season, along with desktop retail e-commerce spending for the third quarter. The forecast came in at $61 billion for the November-December period. Combined, this represents a 16% increase from the spending in 2013.
Spending involving the use of desktop computers for the 2014 November-December period is expected to reach $53.2 billion, a gain of 14% from the previous year. Mobile commerce is forecast to come in at $7.9 billion of retail spending, a larger gain of 25% from last season.
comScore released its third quarter estimates for desktop e-commerce sales, which had desktop spending rise 13% from the previous year to $53.9 billion. This marked the 20th consecutive quarter of positive year over year growth and the 16th consecutive quarter of double digit growth.
Third quarter mobile commerce spending on smartphones and tablets added $6.7 billion, which was up 17% from the same period in the previous year. Digital commerce spending in the quarter was $60.6 billion.
October desktop e-commerce spending grew to $18.8 billion, a 14% increase from the previous year, which continued a positive trend in spending growth from the middle of the year.
Gian Fulgoni, Executive Chairman Emeritus of comScore said:
The 2014 online holiday shopping season is shaping up to be a bright one with more than $61 billion in spending expected, representing a year-over-year growth rate of 16 percent across desktop, smartphones and tablets. Although some lasting effects of the great recession still provide some overhang on the economy, many of the latest indicators point toward signs of optimism for consumer spending during the holidays. Negative economic sentiment is at a five-year low, the stock market is near all-time highs, and inflation has been kept in check. The one negative is that real wages for many middle-class Americans have not grown and in fact may have declined slightly. That said, the recent trends we’ve seen in online consumer spending suggest that American consumers are ready to open their wallets and embrace the spirit of giving this holiday season.
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