Retailers have been rolling out Christmas items since Halloween, and some even earlier than that.
At Tech Talk, we didn’t want to go that far, but we thought now that the turkey has been gobbled down – and while Black Friday and Cyber Monday aren’t too distant in the rearview mirror – it was time to make merry and jump into the Christmas season with both feet.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday and their impact will be felt by merchants – and shoppers – for months to come. After all, these are the two biggest retail days in terms of revenue generation in America and globally. And of course, there’s a tech angle to the Christmas season for us to explore as well.
When Cyber Monday began 17 years ago, it was a bit of an afterthought to some retailers and shoppers. After all, throngs of shoppers reveled in the tradition of arriving at shopping malls and other retail stores by 5 a.m. on Black Friday to scoop up those super sales – and possibly in the hustle and bustle of shopping, work off a few turkey- and dressing-induced pounds picked up the day before.
Besides, the technology to support online shopping wasn’t yet in place the way it is today. Heck, the first iPhone didn’t hit the market until 2007 (two years after the first Cyber Monday), and that same year, less than half of consumers had access to broadband internet.
But quickly the convenience of Internet shopping took hold during the harried holiday season. This year, Cyber Monday is expected to be the most profitable day for retailers during the holiday season, and even the year. (Totals are not yet fully tabulated and published.) Tech and research firm Adobe Analytics predicts this year’s Cyber Monday spending will reach $11.2 billion, increasing 5.1% year-over-year, and breaking a record for the day.
In 2021, Cyber Monday sales totaled $10.7 billion, compared to Black Friday sales of $8.9 billion.
Like Black Friday, retailers stoked the Cyber Monday fire with a plethora of big discounts on hot items. This year’s Cyber Monday deals were no less fantastic.
Don’t underestimate the importance of those discounts. In a rare hiccup, Cyber Monday year-over-year sales declined by 1.4% in 2021. Several researchers found Cyber Monday discounts to be lower compared to the prior year, with BMO Capital Markets analysts reporting that the percentage of items on sale was down about 600 basis points. Still, it was the biggest retail sales day of the year.
Here are a few more fun facts to consider while hanging ornaments on your tree and mistletoe over your doorways:
- Cyber Monday began in 2005 when the National Retail Federation created a digital counterpart to Black Friday.
- During The Great Recession in 2007, Cyber Monday still managed to generate $733 million in revenue, higher than that of Black Friday ($531 million) that year, according to Comscore.
- Cyber Monday surpassed $1 billion in sales for the first time in 2010 to become the biggest online shopping day at the time, according to research firm Comscore.
- Cyber Monday sales have increased mostly steadily – and dramatically over the last decade as home and office technology has exploded, rising from $7.9 billion in 2018 to $9.4 billion in 2019 and $10.8 billion in 2020, according to Statista.
- The U.S. leads the way in Cyber Monday sales, according to Statista, followed by the U.K., Germany, Spain and Italy.
The sales increases are not only fueled by the convenience factor and a growing number of shoppers who desperately want to avoid the chaos of shopping at brick-and-mortar outlets, but also the evolution of ever-improving technology, according to tech experts and economists.
Faster and more reliable Wi-Fi, better online inventory tracking systems, ever-improving tech-enabled logistics providers and delivery services, better home computers, laptops and tablets and the evolution of the smart phone as a true hand-held computer have all fueled the rise of online shopping in general and Cyber Monday in particular. By 2020, nearly 40% of Cyber Monday purchases were made using a smart phone, according to Comscore. Analysts predict that number will grow to 50% by next year and more than 60% by 2026.
Better encryption models and ways of taking payment have eased consumers’ minds and assured them that entering their credit card information online is safe.
And unlike Black Friday, where sales peak in the first part of the day, Cyber Monday gains steam later in the day. The last four hours of Cyber Monday accounted for 25% of the day’s revenue, according to PracticalEcommerce. Last year, the buying rate during the peak hour of Cyber Monday (8 p.m. to 9 p.m.) reached more than $12 million per minute. With more tech-savvy consumers entering the marketplace annually, Cyber Monday’s growth is likely to continue its skyward ascent like Santa’s sleigh on Christmas Eve.
