Analysts expect Cyber Monday to continue this year’s holiday shopping trend of higher sales, as many Americans seem optimistic about their finances. In spite of worries about the potential fiscal cliff and many other concerns about the overall economic outlook in the U.S., American consumers are making this one of the biggest holiday shopping seasons in history. Cyber Monday is poised to push holiday shopping to even higher levels than the already record breaking weekend shopping.
Figures for spending over the Thanksgiving weekend indicate shoppers put over $1 billion in retailers’ coffers and analysts expect Cyber Monday to add another $1.5 billion to the tally, a 20% increase from last year. Retailers have pumped up the volume on their holiday promotions to get shoppers to open their wallets and, so far, it has met with nothing short of unabashed enthusiasm on the part of consumers.
Just one example of the discounts and promotions tempting shoppers is a 55 inch HD TV offer on Amazon.com. The online retailer is offering the television, usually priced at over $1,000, for up to 60% off. Even Kmart, which has struggled in recent years, is offering 75% discounts on all its diamond earrings to try to get shoppers attention and dollars. There is no shortage of deals and consumers are expected to exercise their shopping muscles in a major way today.
Retail revenue from the holiday shopping season typically accounts for about 40% of retailer’s total annual revenue, but an analyst from research firm Benchmark said, “…revenue could reach 45% of revenue by the end of 2013.” Research firm comScore predicts online sales this year will account for more than 10% of all retail spending, continuing the trend of this year’s shopping season breaking records.
The increasing proliferation of mobile devices and apps makes it so easy for consumers to shop from literally anywhere. With smartphones and tablets accounting for a bigger proportion of shopping than ever before, it’s no surprise Cyber Monday is expected to be a bonanza for retailers this year.
In years gone by, Cyber Monday was big because most people didn’t have a good, fast internet connection at home, so they took advantage of the better internet connection they had at work to shop on the Monday after Thanksgiving. Now, it would be just another shopping day except for retailers’ promotions and deals. With cell phone connectivity getting better and reaching further, most American’s could literally shop on the way to work if they were sitting on a bus or subway for their commute. Such easy and ubiquitous access to the shopping experience is a big part of why shoppers are making online shopping such a huge, and growing trend.
There are many big shopping days in the holiday season, and it remains to be seen if Cyber Monday will be the biggest this year. But, one thing is certain about retail shopping, and that is that Thanksgiving and the shopping days surrounding it is growing faster than any other time of the year in terms of the revenue it brings retailers. Chances are, this year’s Cyber Monday will be, yet another, record breaker.
