Facts & Myths About Cyber Monday

Cyber Monday Facts & Myths

The term “Cyber Monday” was dreamt up in 2005 by a marketing team at Shop.org, a division of the National Retail Federation. The idea was to provide online retailers with a catchy hook to match the brick-and-mortar shopping frenzy fueled by mention of Black Friday savings. At the time, Cyber Monday wasn’t the busiest online shopping day of the year — it was more like the 12th — but it’s become an increasingly popular day to shop since then, even with the proliferation of high-speed Internet into most American homes. Nowadays, even though Cyber Monday is just a slice of the holiday shopping pie, it ranks pretty well. Find out how well on the next page.

FACTS ABOUT CYBER MONDAY:

More than 4 percent of Americans admit that they have made an online purchase (via mobile device) while at a social gathering.
78 percent of shoppers use the internet to purchase or research future purchases every year.
Amazon is the most popular online store earning more than 48 billion in the U.S each year.
Last year was the biggest Cyber Monday yet, hitting $1.7 billion in online spending. That’s a 17% year-over-year increase.
Cyber Monday is social too – Last year on Face book, referral traffic for top retailers spiked 240% compared to other average Mondays.
In the past, the average amount spent online per person over Thanksgiving weekend was $172.42. Not too shabby. But the average online shopper spent $194.46 on Monday, nearly 13% higher.
If you think shopping holidays are geared towards women, you’re wrong. According to a survey, men (43%) actually claim to shop online during Cyber Monday more than women (39%).
Top products purchased online include apparel (31%), books/DVDs/video games (28%) and consumer electronics (25%).
Research estimates that the U.S. retail industry will be worth $279 billion in 2015.
On Amazon’s peak day, the retail giants sell up so 320 products per second.

MYTHS ABOUT CYBER MONDAY:

Cyber Monday is the highest volume online sales day of the year.
The same in-store specials featured on Black Friday are also available to Cyber Monday shoppers. Online shoppers should not expect to get the same deals offered on Black Friday when they log in on Cyber Monday.
It is not as safe to shop on Cyber Monday as it is to shop on Black Friday. Many people believe that it is safer to shop in a traditional brick-and-mortar store on Black Friday than at an online site on Cyber Monday because of the potential identity theft issues.
Cyber Monday purchases will not get to their destination by Christmas. Some people have been worried to buy on Cyber Monday because they think the items they buy will not have enough time to get to their destination before Christmas.
Cyber Monday purchases are not easy to return. Many people also avoid buying on Cyber Monday because they fear their purchases will not be easy to return.

TIPS FOR ONLINE RETAILERS FOR CYBER MONDAY:

Think fast:

With dwindling attention spans, visitors are likely to leave your site as quickly as in 3 seconds if things aren’t loading the way they’re supposed to. Load times should already be a priority for your entire store, but is an especially high priority when considering the flood of traffic you’ll likely see. Surely you’ve spent a long time researching hosts and perusing the endless boasts of storage and transfer, but making sure your entire site is fully optimized is equally important.

Don’t forget about user experience:

Great customer service, of course, means knowing and understanding your customer. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to foster relationships and build new ones. Consider offering tailored deals to returning customers based on their personal preferences and offer a live-chat on the site to help answer customer questions instantly.

Maintain a loss prevention strategy:

Unfortunately, cyber criminals are just as excited for Cyber Monday as you and we are. With so many credit card numbers flying around, it’s a popular day for hacking and credit card fraud. As an ecommerce store, your responsibility is to ensure all the appropriate measures are in place to protect your information as well as that of your consumers.

Keep track of visitors:

Cyber Monday promotions are a great way to introduce new business to your site and open the doors to long-lasting relationships. Once the one-day madness is over, it’s time to analyze the quantity and types of visitors you hosted. There is no better time to use analytical tools in order to track visitors and see if any patterns emerge.