Apple Inspires People to Shop on Christmas

If you thought that Christmas Eve was the end of the holiday shopping period, think again.

It turns out that Christmas Day can be quite a popular day as well, albeit without the long lines and overcrowded retailers. Instead of flocking to Best Buy

for a last-minute electronic purchase, consumers used their existing (and brand-new, Santa-delivered) iPads, iPhones and Android devices to help boost sales of digital content. “One of the interesting e-commerce phenomena occurring over the past several years is the dramatic increase in Christmas Day purchases of Digital Content & Subscriptions, a retail category that includes digital downloads of music, TV, movies, e-books and apps,” comScore

wrote in a

focusing on holiday spending data (via

). “Not surprisingly, as many consumers get new smartphones, tablets, e-readers and digital content gift certificates for Christmas, they spend Christmas Day loading up their devices with new content.” comScore said that on average, digital content and subscriptions accounted for 2.8% of retail e-commerce sales during the 2011 holiday season-to-date (November 1 through December 26). “But on Christmas Day the category accounted for more than 20 percent of sales,” comScore wrote. “Consistent with past years, comScore expects sales for this category of products to remain elevated throughout the entire week following Christmas Day.” Since November 1, $35.3 billion has been spent online. That's a 15% increase over the corresponding days of 2010. Further, comScore reported that $2.8 billion was spent during the most recent week of the month (ending December 25), which is 16% higher than the amount of money consumers spent online last year during this period. “Holiday e-commerce spending has remained strong throughout the season, and we have now reached a record $35 billion in U.S. online sales for the season-to-date,” comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni said in today's company release. “We can now say with certainty that the $1.25 billion spent on Cyber Monday will rank it as the heaviest online spending day of the season for the second consecutive year, but we should also note that it was accompanied by nine other billion dollar spending days this year.” Since comScore's reports are neutral, it's impossible to determine which online retailers saw the greatest benefit. Likewise, we don't know which device led to the greatest number of online purchases, nor can we gauge the impact that Amazon's

Kindle Fire may have had on the market. Considering that e-readers were mentioned in the report, it is wholly possible that Barnes & Noble

contributed to record-breaking figure, thanks to the release of the Nook Tablet and the aging Nook Color. In this scenario, there are no losers in the digital space. We may soon find out just how many Nook Tablets and Kindle Fires were sold, which could lead to a little disappointment if either device failed to meet expectations. But no matter what, digital sales are going up, which is great news for those who provide digital content. (Well, everyone except Netflix

. That company just can't

.) But underneath the hype, hoopla, and so-called proof that the world is going digital, there is a more interesting story that's begging to be uncovered: where are the brick-and-mortar retailer reports? Why isn't Best Buy bragging about (if nothing else) the company's after-Christmas results? I went to Best Buy on Monday, December 26, and it was a madhouse. I visited two locations, actually. The first had the longest checkout line I have ever seen at any retailer – before or after Christmas. The second was very crowded but had shorter lines. It was also later in the day, which could have played a role in the diminishing lines. If there is any downside to Best Buy's success in its post-Christmas sale, it's that most of the shoppers I saw were buying small items, such as DVDs. This is likely due to the fact that most consumers receive $25, $50 and $100 gift cards for Christmas – not the $1,000 gift cards that would be needed to buy anything significant from the electronics retailer. This could be one of the reasons why the retailer isn't bragging this week. Best Buy isn't the only store in town, but guess what: Target

and Wal-Mart

aren't talking either. That might be because of a story

published on the shipment delays from all three retailers, preventing some consumers from getting their items in time for Christmas. One disgruntled customer, a philosophy professor at the University of Memphis, was so bothered by the delay of his 42” Samsung TV that he told Reuters he would not return to Best Buy. This, more than anything else, could be the issue that officially kills off brick-and-mortar retailers. If Joe and Jane Average can't count on Best Buy – a trusted retailer of electronics – to deliver their order on time, why would they continue shopping with the company? Why wouldn't they look elsewhere? Since Target and Wal-Mart faced a similar issue this Christmas, the obvious alternative is Amazon. But guess what, shoppers: Amazon might be just as flawed as its competitors. At least two members of the Benzinga crew (myself included) were forced to wait until after Christmas for Amazon orders to be fulfilled. Both orders were placed before the cutoff date for Christmas shipping. But Amazon still failed to deliver the orders on time. Thankfully, my colleague found his item in store and canceled his Amazon order. I, however, decided to wait for mine to arrive. In fact, I'm still waiting. But I am told my package will arrive this afternoon. We'll see. The shipping delays will no doubt lead to excuses, finger-pointing, and positive press releases from retailers that are looking to protect their image and encourage customers to return. According to Reuters, Best Buy has addressed the problem by sending out e-Gift Cards to the affected customers, which makes me wish I had placed a delayed order at BestBuy.com (who

love free gift cards?). Unfortunately, I mistakenly chose to make my purchases in-store, so nothing extra was awarded. Oh well. It's not like this is the first time I've gotten screwed out of a Best Buy gift card. In any case, 2011 isn't likely to be the year that decides the fate of brick-and-mortar retailers. But it has sent a strong message to the industry: while there are some battles you cannot win, shipping issues should never be the reason why you fail.