IBM Says 'Cyber Monday' Saw Greatest Online Sales

Sales online on Nov. 26, so-called “Cyber Monday,” surged more than 30 percent above last year, creating the largest-ever online sales day, International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) said.

“It became the biggest online shopping day ever,” said Jay Henderson, strategy director for smarter commerce for the Armonk, N.Y., company, the No. 2 computer maker.

Among the finds from IBM analytics:

Online sales rose 36 percent from Nov. 23, so-called “Black Friday.”

Shopping peaked at 11:25 a.m. EST, about the same time as in 2011.

About 18 percent of online shoppers used a mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet, to access a retail site, 70 percent above the 2011 amount.

Average order value fell to $185.12, about 6 percent below the 2011 amount, because of sharper buying. The average number of items ordered rose 14 percent to 8.3, IBM estimated.

The best category for sales growth was department stores, whose online sales surged 41 percent, followed by home goods, up 26.8 percent, apparel, up 25.3 percent and health and beauty sales, up 25 percent.

IBM based its findings upon its IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark, which tracks a million daily ecommerce transactions analyzing data from more than 500 U.S. retailers.

Shares of IBM fell $1.65 cents to $191.23 in Tuesday trading.