U.S. Online Retail Sales Hit All-time High

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S.

When Cyber Monday-esque deals of 40% and 50% off sitewide start appearing before Thanksgiving and become commonplace on Black Friday, is there much point to Cyber Monday itself?

For a long time, it seemed Canadians were pretty indifferent to shopping on the Internet. But more-robust-than-expected online sales on both Black Friday and so-called Cyber Monday, coupled with strong sales on Canadian retail websites and a slew of new entrants, suggest that has changed.

U.S. online retail sales on Cyber Monday hit an all-time high and surpassed US$1-billion for the first time for any single day of web shopping

Monday was the biggest day of online shopping in history, and it came on the heels of all-time high e-retail sales on Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Don’t think for a second, however, that any of this means shoppers will be abandoning physical stores anytime soon. Cyber Monday 2012 was expected to be an epic day for online sales, and it didn’t disappoint. In all likelihood, e-commerce transactions reached around $1.5 billion during the day, up from $1.25 billion on Cyber Monday last year, according to comScore.

NEW YORK — In a one-day blitz of shopping, consumers are expected to empty their wallets of more than $1 billion on Cyber Monday, the online shopping spree on November 26, according to spending projections from research firm, ComScore. The day follows closely on the heels of Black Friday on November 23, which kicks off the holiday shopping season at stores, and is often the busiest shopping day for retailers.

Based on the sales figures, consumers are increasingly content to turn to the web to get their holiday shopping done. Judging by survey data and heaping anecdotal evidence, however, we’re increasingly dissatisfied with online shopping in general. By most accounts, it was a terrific holiday season for e-commerce. Online sales on Cyber Monday increased by 17% over last year, and e-retail sales shot up even more sharply on Thanksgiving and Black Friday.