RESTON, Va., Nov. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- comScore (NASDAQ : SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today reported holiday season retail e-commerce spending for the first 18 days of the November – December 2012 holiday season, as well as its official spending forecast for the season. For the holiday season-to-date, $10.1 billion has been spent online, marking a 16-percent increase versus the corresponding days last year. Thursday, November 8 has been the heaviest online spending day of the season to date at $829 million.

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*Corresponding days based on corresponding shopping days (November 3 thru November 20, 2011)

"The 2012 online holiday shopping season is off to an encouraging start with a 16-percent growth thus far," said comScore chairman, Gian Fulgoni. "Recent 5-year highs in consumer confidence and early retailer promotions appear to be serving as wind in the sails for the beginning portion of the holiday season, with consumers opening up their wallets early and often. This spending growth also reflects the continuing channel shift to online as consumers increasingly opt for the attractive pricing, convenience and product selection it offers."

comScore 2012 Holiday Online Retail Spending Forecast
The official comScore 2012 holiday season forecast is that online retail spending for the November – December period will reach $43.4 billion, representing a 17-percent gain versus year ago. This strong growth rate represents an improvement compared to last season's 15-percent increase. It is also far ahead of the retail industry's expectation for a 4.1-percent increase in consumers' overall spending this holiday season.

* Forecast

"The strength leading up to and during the holiday season-to-date, in addition to a maximum 32 shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas, provide the basis for what we view as a fairly optimistic outlook for the 2012 online holiday shopping season," added Fulgoni. "Accounting for these factors, comScore forecasts a healthy 17-percent growth rate to $43.4 billion in online spending for the months of November and December. This would put an exclamation point on what has already been a strong year for retail e-commerce."

Weekly Online Holiday Retail Sales
Please visit this link to view the weekly online holiday retail sales chart: http://www.comscore.com/Insights/Press_Releases/2012/11/comScore_Forecasts_17_Percent_Growth_for_2012_U.S._Holiday_E-Commerce_Spending

About comScore
comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital business analytics. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/companyinfo.

SOURCE comScore, Inc.