2013 Cyber Monday sales hit new record

On Cyber Monday, the biggest day of the year for e-commerce in the US, online sales rose 18.4% to $1.735 billion, a record for a single day, according to comScore.

Online sales grew at a torrid pace, rising 22% between Thursday and Cyber Monday, according to data firm comScore.

That does not include sales made using a mobile device such as a smart phone or a tablet.

Cyber Monday fell on December 2 in 2013.

The long Thanksgiving weekend sets the tone for the holiday season, when retailers get about 30% of their annual sales.

Total in-store sales between Thanksgiving Day on Thursday and Sunday rose 1% compared to the same period last year, while the number of visits to stores fell 4%, ShopperTrak said. ShopperTrak has forecast sales at stores will rise 2.4% for November and December together.

During “Black Weekend” 2013, shoppers spent an estimated $22.2 billion, compared to last year’s $22 billion, said ShopperTrak.

On Sunday, the National Retail Federation estimated Americans had spent 2.9% less over the weekend.

Shoppers appeared to be waiting a bit longer to do their Christmas shopping, perhaps holding out for deals. An Ipsos poll of almost 1,400 Americans over the weekend found 77% had done at least some of their holiday shopping by Black Friday, compared to 81% on the same day last year.

According to IBM data, sales through mobile devices rose 55%.

The biggest beneficiaries of the surge in online sales were marketplaces run by e-commerce leaders Amazon.com and eBay, according to data released by ChannelAdvisor, a provider of e-commerce software to retailers that tracks online sales.

Sales on Amazon‘s and eBay‘s marketplaces rose 30% on Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

They did well in part because of how well suited their sites are to use on mobile devices, said ChannelAdvisor CEO Scot Wingo.

Wal-Mart Stores said Monday was the all-time highest online sales day but declined to give a figure or a growth rate compared with last year.