We’ve All Seen the Black Friday Shopping Wars in Big Stores. the Battles Are Now Cyber and on Mondays.
Cyber Monday is Black Friday’s nemesis. For years, Black Friday has been the go-to day, the day that people pencil into their diary, set their alarm to – hell, some even camp overnight at their store of choice, and develop the perfect game-plan to grab the items they’re after by mapping their route before-hand.
But those days are over.
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Just like Black Friday, reading an article is getting old. Switch to Cyber Mondays and the video version of this article:
With that sorted, let’s log in into the world-wide-web to discover 15 facts about Cyber Monday!
1
What Exactly Is Cyber Monday?
Looks like Cyber Monday will have some stiff competition this year, with Black Friday being dubbed Cyber Friday. Depending on where you live, you might have seen that Black Friday has either been postponed or cancelled all together, in the hope to keep large groups of people from congregating in malls, and well, everywhere!
Also known as “Blue Monday,” Cyber Monday began in 2005. It was Ellen David, from the National Retail Federation and Scott Silverman who came up with the term. It didn’t take long for it to become the biggest online shopping day of the year!
One reason why this significant day was chosen is that most people have rather slow internet over the weekends, and when they arrived back at the office where the internet was much faster, online sales increased exponentially.
Now you know why this is one Monday that people don’t mind waking up to!
2
Consumers Have Shifted From Desktop Purchases to Mobile Purchases.
Aluxers, it’s intriguing to see how the purchasing trends change year on year. In 2019, roughly $3 billion of items were ordered from a smartphone, compare that to 2018 when only $2.2 billion worth of sales happened through a smart phone.
However, on the actual Monday, because we all know these sales start days in advance, there was a slight change in mobile vs desktop purchases, with desktop purchases accounting for 51% of sales. And that’s most likely because so many people are back at work the Monday after Thanksgiving.
Retailers are also using their social media platforms more than previous years to give their customers the best deals. This way they’re able to reach their target market, without having to spend loads on advertising. It’s a win/win.
Aluxers, can you guess who the biggest spenders are on Cyber Monday? We have a feeling the answer will surprise you…but keep reading to see if you’re correct.
3
Most Successful Sales Tactics Used Online
So, how do websites lure people in and keep them focused right through to the, “your purchase was successful.” Honestly, so many of us just window shop, but online. I mean, heck, we even go as far as putting items in our shopping cart and clicking “check out.” But we don’t follow through… still feels good though, doesn’t it?
This year is different in that Cyber Monday is competing with Black Friday, due to Covid and restrictions on gatherings. So, these are some of the tactics that online retailers use to get you to click “proceed to purchase” on their site and not their competitor.
Storytelling is huge – be sure to watch our video 15 Things you can learn from luxury brands for more information on that.
Gift guides by price point is another favourite of buyers. Partnering with another brand is also a guarantee that you’ll spend more, especially when you see how well the products work together, free shipping and of course, plain old great customer service, before and after sales, and a great product!
4
How to Get the Best Deals
Discounts – Discounts everywhere… but how do you make sure you’re getting the deal of the century? Ok, deal of the year, but same thing.
You can download an app to bring together all your favourites from the various sites you’ve visited. So, you don’t need to flit from one site to the next.
Make sure you’ve done a price check on the items, so you know for sure you’re getting a great deal. You can also set up price alerts and use a comparative app to find out the cheapest deals. Follow your favourite stores or brands on social media and most importantly, make sure you know the shipping, return and price protection policy.
Aluxers, did you know that 43% of people who had their identity stolen in 2017, said it happened while doing online shopping? We’ll share how you can keep yourself safe a little later.
5
What Is the Profile of Most Buyers on Cyber Monday?
According to muchneeded.com, these are the demographics of the Cyber Monday buyer.
18% of shoppers are between the ages of 18 and 24. Another 18% range from 25 to 35 years of age. The 35 to 44-years old made up 15% of buyers, 14% goes to 45 to 54-year olds and, Aluxers, would you have guessed that over 65s made up nearly 20% of buyers in 2019? If you got it right, well done!
56% of shoppers are male, 44% female. 18% Caucasian, 20% African American, and 20% Hispanic. The highest percentage of shoppers was Asian shoppers at 42%.
6
Can Websites Keep up With the Increase in Traffic?
Tech Trends set up a server to monitor what went down in real time for major retailers, including Adidas, Amazon, Dyson, John Lewis, Nintendo Store, Disney Store, Superdry, and Urban Outfitters. They managed to see who had lengthy waiting times or who just couldn’t keep up.
Microcenter experienced a 45-minute outage which led to consumers complaining on social media. And there is no need to highlight the irony of a computer department store going offline. Ouch.
Halfords, a UK company selling car parts, camping gear and touring bicycles had wait times of almost 10-seconds when things were very busy for them. Defs not good enough.
GlassesUSA experienced 502 Bad Gateways.
So, how does this affect online sales and general opinion of the store?
Let’s find out.
7
Online Delays and Outages Affect Conversion Rates
Several studies affirm that waiting for 4-5 seconds for a website to load is deemed unacceptable for consumers. A 100 millisecond delay hurts conversion by 7%, a 2-second delay increases bounce rates by 103% – meaning there is no interaction on the site and if a page takes more than 3-seconds to load, 53% of customers move to another site.
Businesses must be on top of their game when it comes to being internet ready for Cyber Monday.
8
Predictions for 2020 Cyber Monday
It’s predicted that 2020s Cyber Monday will set a new record with more then $10 billion in online sales. However, it’s not a huge jump from last years overall sales of $9.4 billion.
In the past, we’d order online and it wouldn’t enter our minds whether our order would arrive before Christmas or not, but with Covid-19 and severe delays in shipping, retailers that can guarantee that orders will be delivered when they say they will, will guarantee the sale.
Clothing is predicted to be one of the biggest sellers this year, as the fashion industry has taken a severe knock with the pandemic and flight deals are another area where you’re sure to save big.
Let’s have a look at how sales on Cyber have increased over the years.
9
Timeline of the Financial Growth Since Its Inception
When Cyber Monday was first introduced in 2005, it generated $484 million in sales. It took a further 5-years to hit the billion-dollar mark and from there it increased exponentially year on year.
Fast forward another 5-years to 2015, and sales are just under $3.1 billion, 2017 they more than double to $6.59 billion, 2018 adds more than a billion on to settle at $7.9 billion and 2019 was an incredible $9.4 billion.
It’s only a matter of days to see if 2020 can make that $10 billion prediction a reality.
Do note – these figures are brought forward by Adobe Analytics.
Are these stats still boring? Well then prepare for a cyber sales shock. Check out the Most Expensive Things Ever Bought Online Top 5.
10
Consumer Behaviour on Cyber Monday
The best thing about online shopping is that there no pants required! So, while you’re shopping sans pants, sans make-up and a glass of wine on the ready, heres how other consumers like you are spending on Cyber Monday.
The millennials were the biggest spenders, with an average of $419.52 per person – that’s according to the Washington Post.
83.3 million people shopped online on Cyber Monday and online sales trumped Black Friday’s online sales by $2 billion.
11
What Did Buyers Purchase the Most on Cyber Monday in 2019?
Business Insider asked their readers what they bought on Cyber Monday in 2019, and these were some of the most purchased items:
- Parachute Bedding
- Limited Edition Allbirds
- Echo Dot
- Bombas Socks
- Fire TV Stick 4K
- Hulu Membership
- Kindle Paperwhite
- Amazon Smartplug
- Repel Umbrella
- Kindle Paperwhite
As you can see by the list, tech is the biggest seller on Cyber Monday. Other categories that sell well are small appliances and clothing. When it comes to toys, the best deals are usually 2-weeks before Christmas, but the only snag is you run the risk of no stock available. Let’s check out some other best-sellers from previous years.
12
Top Sellers Over the Years
Aluxers, let’s go back in time to some of the top sellers on Cyber Monday! In 2018, the biggest online sellers were Nintendo Switch, Drones, LG TVs, Little Live Pets, FurReal Pets, Red Dead Redemption 2 and Amazon Echo devices.
In 2017 it was Google Chromecast, Apple AirPods, L.O.L Surprise Dolls – predicted to do well again this year, Microsoft Xbox One X and iPads along with Samsung Tablets.
And top sellers in 2016 were Lego, Shopkins, Sony PlayStation 4, Microsoft Xbox One S, and Amazon Fire tablets. So, what’s going to be a big seller in 2020?
Let’s find out at this week’s number
13
Shop Till You Drop!
Clothes, as we mentioned, are going to be a top seller with some online stores already offering up to 80% off various brands and items. Statistics reveal that 68% of online shoppers are looking for clothing.
Electronics will be huge, with 48% of shoppers stating they are looking to buy in that category, while 47% are looking for games and toys, 41% are hoping to score on gift cards and 39% are looking for something in the health and beauty department.
What will sell well on Cyber Monday? According to techradar.com – iRobot Roomba E5 Robot Vacuums are still a winner, the Apple Watch SE 44mm – yep, the brand new one is already on sale, the All-new Echo Dot (4th gen) will be slashed for the first time and Fire TV Stick Lite with Alexa Voice Remote will be a top-seller.
14
Which Day Has Better Deals? Cyber Monday or Black Friday?
Aluxers, that’s like asking how long is a piece of string? Both days will offer incredible deals, and it will also depend what you’re specifically looking for.
There is one bonus this year with Black Friday being predominantly online, is that there is little chance of being trampled while you’re trying to reach for the last Harry Potter boxed Lego set.
Still to come, how to keep your online profile safe this Cyber Monday!
15
Strangest Cyber Monday Deals Ever!
So, we know that tech and clothing are the top sellers on Cyber Monday, but here are some of the more unusual items that buyers have been able to snap up at bargain prices.
A yodelling pickle in 2018 = where you saved $1.50 on the purchase! A fishbowl filled with condoms, which is 25% off its usual retail price of $35 and a pickle gift box where you save $20… actually, we’ll be right back, just *cough* finding out more about this pickle gift box.
Question:
Tell us about a bargain that you bagged on a Cyber Monday? We’d love to hear from you.
