Everyone has a different way to tackle holiday shopping – Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, some have it done months in advance, and others wait until the very last minute.   For me, I’m not big into massive crowds so online shopping to the rescue.   Others thrive on the energy of being in the stores on the busiest shopping day of the year.  With last weekend marking the official kick-off to the holiday season, I thought I’d provide a round up of what’s trending:  

Online numbers are looking up:

• According to comScore, for the holiday season-to-date, $16.4 billion has been spent online, marking a 16-percent increase versus the corresponding days last year.
  

Thanksgiving Day – Why wait until Black Friday or Cyber Monday:

• Online shopping on Thanksgiving Day also increased, totaling $633 million in receipts, a 32 percent increase over Thanksgiving 2011
  

Black Friday – More than just in-store:

• Bargain hunters spent $1.042 billion online the day after Thanksgiving, a 26 percent increase of last year's Black Friday, according to new figures released today by market analyst ComScore
  

Cyber Monday Week:

• Cyber Monday reached $1.465 billion in online spending, up 17 percent versus year ago, representing the heaviest online spending day in history and the second day this season (in addition to Black Friday) to surpass $1 billion in sales                

• Cyber Monday is now being dubbed Cyber Week:  “The annual event is increasingly becoming Cyber Week instead of a one-day event as retailers open their arms for Americans who prefer to avoid crowds and compare prices online.”
  

• But, Cyber Monday continues its importance, driving a nearly 22% increase in year-over-year (YoY) online sales. Monday sales beat Sunday, the next highest day by a margin of 26.7%.
  

Mobile shopping continues to rise:

• ChannelAdvisor that said mobile shopping made up 32% of all online spending over the Black Friday weekend
  

• Mobile devices were a key part of the online shopping craziness that was November 26th.  Sales from smartphones and tablets doubled this year. I n tablets the growth was 110% and in smartphones - 100%
  

• Mobile bar code scans on Black Friday increased 50 percent, according to a report from ScanLife
  

For more on how you can be ready for the holiday season, check out my blog post on commerce strategies for the holidays.