In recent years the notion that the Monday following the Thanksgiving holiday is the biggest online shopping day of the year has taken hold of online retailers in a big way. The importance of Cyber Monday has become a mantra for many wholesale suppliers and online retailers. Like many erroneous theories, it seems logical and self-evident on the surface but proves somewhat hollow on closer examination.
There is no doubt that the weekend following Thanksgiving is a huge sells period for the traditional brick and mortar retailer. The day following the big feast has been given the curious moniker of Black Friday, as in being in the black, and is the launching point for the Cyber Monday Myth.

The idea being that workers are returning, unenthusiastically, to their jobs with buying on their minds. Rather than achieve their work assignments they are out surfing the ecommerce super highway buying jewelry, apparel, and home electronics. Ringing up the credit card sales at a break neck pace.

There is some truth to this. A significant amount of that shopping is taking place at work. The study found that young people are most likely to shop online from work. Almost three-fourths of 18- to 24-year-olds, and 66.4 percent of those 25 to 34, plan to browse or buy online while at work, just not necessarily on Cyber Monday.

The MasterCard Company released a study conducted for them by the Ipsos Insight firm that throws some serious doubt at the Cyber Monday theory. According to the study only 10% of Americans surveyed said they would shop online on that particular day. However, nearly three out of four shoppers say they plan to shop online according to the MasterCard survey. The survey went on to point out that people expect to spend $300 online out of a total holiday spend of $700 each.

Online purchases are predicted to make up a sizable portion of the $676 billion in sells expected this holiday shopping season. That number is based on U.S. Department of Commerce data. Consumers have a growing trust in online retail. There was a time when shoppers only turned to online buying as an act of last resort, either they couldn’t find the desired item in a regular store or needed something shipped to a distant recipient. In the past online buyers have shown concern about shipping times and dishonest merchants but now customers have developed the confidence in online buying convenience and security to often make it their first buying choice.

Last year, the day with the highest amount of Web transactions processed was actually December 5, a week after Cyber Monday, according to MasterCard’s worldwide data for 2005 and a survey by online retailer Shop.org of its members found that their busiest day last year was December 12. Other studies have supported the idea that in fact the biggest online retail days of the year fall between December 4 and December 15.

So what is behind the notion of Cyber Monday? Simply stated, it is mostly a marketing strategy. Web businesses are trying to make Cyber Monday an event. Logistical problems such as the time needed to allow for shipping mean online retailers have a shorter sells season than traditional stores. That means both shoppers and sellers would like to start the holiday season earlier. However given that online retailers and wholesalers have been pushing Cyber Monday for several years and still capture only 10% of their potential market doesn’t say much for the strategy.

To encourage shoppers to get an earlier start on the spending retailers have been using special promotions and discounts for Cyber Monday on both items and shipping. CyberMonday.com, a new web site sponsored by Shop.org, listed the deals that were available and served as a clearinghouse for Cyber Monday promotions. Look for an expanded version next year.

While marketing strategies work, just consider the growth of the day after Thanksgiving. It wasn’t always the huge shopping day that it has become. The boom was brought on by stores promoting the day with discounts and other similar promotional activities. In the long run this may work out for online businesses as well, but business might do better to encourage consumer confidence in online shopping and work on ways to get order processing and shipping handled more quickly in order to expand the days with in the online shopping season as opposed to encouraging the at best self fulfilling prophecy of Cyber Monday.

Art Mickewraith is a freelance writer and regular contributor to Top Ten Wholesale. He can be reached at Content and Solutions or by email at artmicklewraith@gmail.com