Cyber Monday set to be big for online retailers
Although Black Friday is known as the official start to the holiday shopping season, and retailers experience strong sales throughout the entire weekend. This includes Cyber Monday, which is the Monday immediately following Thanksgiving. On Black Friday, consumers hit retail brick-and-mortar locations to stock up on products, but that Monday is mainly designated for internet purchases. For this year, ecommerce amounts spent on Cyber Monday are expected to significantly surpass last year's totals, as more shoppers logged on to the internet to find and buy the items and gifts they want.
Cyber Monday to see nearly 130 million consumers
Independent Retailer reports that according to a recently released study by Shop.org and BIGinsight, approximately 129.2 million American consumers are expected to go online to purchase products for the holiday season. This is a significant increase from last year's total of 122.8 million, and an even bigger jump than the 106.9 million who participated in Cyber Monday in 2010.
Besides desktop computers, many shoppers will be using their mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets to access merchants' websites. The research found that 20.8 million Americans will use these connected tools to buy items this year, up from the 17.8 million who did so last year.
"The momentum from a solid Black Friday weekend certainly looks like it will carry on into Cyber Monday," stated BIGinsight Consumer Insights director Pam Goodfellow. "Millions of shoppers will be visiting retailers' websites from their smartphones, tablets, home computers and work computers to check out special Cyber Monday promotions and make the most of their holiday shopping budgets."
The source reports that Shop.org created the term "Cyber Monday," after an online shopping trend was discovered the Monday after Thanksgiving. Retailers have taken notice of the designated day and are now offering a variety of discounts and deals for consumers on the internet.
Purchasing amounts expected to increase
As more shoppers go online for Cyber Monday this year, total purchasing amounts are also expected to drastically increase. Business Day reports that analysis from comScore revealed that approximately $1.5 billion will be spent through the internet throughout the day. Last year brought in $1.25 billion for web retailers. This rise is mainly due to the fact that businesses will be offering a variety of deals and discounts aimed at drawing in consumers to their websites.
