Now, that Black Friday is already a thing of the past, it's time to take the most advantage of the Cyber Monday sales event.
Cyber Monday 2016
Market analysts such as Adobe Digital Insights (ADI) predict that this year's Cyber Monday will make history as the biggest online shopping day. ADI is basing its forecast by tracking 80 percent of all online transactions at the largest 100 retailers in the U.S. The market analysis firm predicts that this year Cyber Monday sales will reach up to $3.36 billion. Comparing to 2015, that represents a 9.4 percent increase.
Experts predicted that this year sales on Black Friday would reach $3.05 billion. However, sales on that special discount day were less than expected, the shopping being not as busy this year. The reason could be the fact that many stores opened early on Thanksgiving Day and online retailers already started sales weeks before.
Cyber Monday is going to be a big sales day for Amazon and the online giant retailer is offering more than 75,000 deals this week. According to Amazon, customers ordered a record-breaking 629 items per second on last year's Cyber Monday, for a total of more than 54 million items sold worldwide. This holiday season, Amazon's most-watched deal is the Mermaid Tail Blanket. Early access will be granted to Lightning Deals to Amazon Prime members.
According to the website silive.com, Tamara Gaffney, principal analyst at ADI, explained that the growing interest in Cyber Monday sales could be attributed to the fact that consumers have become more comfortable spending money online. She said that another primary reason is the convenience of not having to go into stores and deal with the holiday season shopping stress.
ADI's report was based on an analysis of one trillion visits to more than 55 million stock keeping units and 4,500 retail websites. The market analysis firm also conducted a survey of 1,000 consumers with the aim to understand their preference when shopping online during the holiday season.
History of Cyber Monday
The term "Cyber Monday" appeared for the first time in a 2005 press release made by the National Retail Federation. The term was used to define the spike in online sales the Monday after Thanksgiving. The reason for this spike in online sales on Monday rather than during the weekend was that many consumers only had access to high-speed internet at work. On the Monday after the holiday weekend, they began their holiday shopping back in the office,
In-Store Cyber Monday Specials
Today, Cyber Monday is not only about shopping online. Many businesses are also offering Cyber Monday deals on site for those who prefer shopping in stores. Among those offering in-store deals as part of Cyber Monday are included Target, P.C. Richard and Son, Dick's Sporting Goods and Kohl's.
How To Prepare For Cyber Monday
In order to take maximum advantage of Cyber Monday deals, it should be a premeditated event. You have to already thoughtfully weighed and considered what you need to purchase before the big sales event. According to The Street, your best bet is to have your list of items ready for speedy purchase. Many customers are going to hunt the deals, competing for the items and once a Cyber Monday special is out of stock, it's gone.
In order to save yourself money, time and energy, you will need a well designed Cyber Monday game plan. First step is to ask yourself what you really need to purchase. Then, ask yourself what you want. And, more important, you have to asses what you can afford to buy. Making a certain budget will ensure that you do not indulge on overspending.
