comScore released additional insights into online consumer activity on Cyber Monday, revealing where the majority of dollars spent originated as well as traffic gains for major retail sites.

As reported in comScore's December 3 press release, online retail sales on Cyber Monday this year increased by 15 percent over last year's level. This gain was driven by a 22-percent increase in the number of buyers, while the average dollars spent per buyer declined by 5 percent versus year ago. This decline in dollars per buyer can be traced to a drop in the number of buying transactions completed by the average buyer.

"Because of the extremely attractive prices offered by a myriad of retailers, it shouldn't be surprising that nearly two million more consumers purchased online this Cyber Monday compared to last. But, because of their reduced spending power it's also evident that those who did buy were unable or unwilling to spend as much per person as we saw last year," said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni. "That said, it's clear that Cyber Monday has become a well publicized event that has fundamentally captured consumers' attention and a meaningful share of their wallets."

Work Computers Accounted for Half of Cyber Monday Spending

The Cyber Monday phenomenon is driven primarily by online spending from work computers as people return to work after the Thanksgiving weekend and begin making their holiday gift purchases out of view of family members and from computers with ultra fast connections. Similar to previous years, work computers accounted for approximately half of total online spending on Cyber Monday. Interestingly, although they represent a relatively small percentage (7 percent) of overall Cyber Monday spending, international consumers spent 44 percent more online at U.S. sites than they did in 2007, a potential consequence of the far faster ramp up in Internet usage that is occurring in many less mature international markets than in the U.S today..

Retail Sites Draw Massive Visitor Gains on Cyber Monday Relative to Depressed November Levels

More than 57 million Americans visited retail sites on Cyber Monday, representing a 33-percent jump versus the average daily visitors in November 2008, a month that generally saw reduced visitation to retail sites as consumers struggled to assimilate a succession of negative economic events. The most visited retail site on Cyber Monday was eBay, which grew 45 percent over November levels to nearly 13 million visitors, followed by Amazon Sites with 9.2 million visitors (up 56 percent), Wal-Mart with 6.8 million visitors (up 90 percent), and Target Corporation with 4.8 million visitors (up 54 percent).

CyberMonday.com Draws 1 Million Visitors on Cyber Monday

For some time, online shopping resources have been a popular way for consumers to compare prices and obtain the best deal - whether their ultimate purchase was completed online or in a retail store. In a tight economy, the popularity of these resources can increase even more. Cyber Monday saw significant visitor gains at most of the top retail resources, led by Shopzilla.com Sites with nearly 2 million visitors (up 98 percent versus the November base period), followed by Yahoo! Shopping with 1.9 million visitors (up 81 percent) and Google Product Search with 1.1 million (up 59 percent). CyberMonday.com, Shop.org's online round-up of the best Cyber Monday deals, attracted 1 million unique visitors.