3. Cyber Monday
The term ‘Cyber Monday’ was coined by Shop.org in 2005 to refer to the significant jump in
e-commerce spending that occurred following the Thanksgiving holiday weekend as
consumers got back to sitting in front of computer screens at work.
At the time and for several years afterward, Cyber Monday was often misconstrued as the
heaviest online spending day of the year, when in fact it barely cracked the top ten days of
the season.
However, with the passage of time, the day grew in importance as a result of an increasing
number of retailers offering very attractive deals on the day and extensive digital media
coverage making sure that consumers were aware of them.
As a result, Cyber Monday has assumed the mantle of top online spending day for the past
two years.
5. Consumer Spending
• Cyber Monday spending soured to $1.46 Billion in 2012, ranking as the heaviest US online
spending day in history.
• Cyber Monday saw Digital Content & Subscriptions continue to set the pace among product
categories with a year-over-year growth rate of 28 percent.
• Nearly half of dollars spent online at U.S. websites originated from work computers (47.1 percent),
down slightly from last year.
US Retail Spending (Millions $US)
2011 2012 Percent Change
November 1-26 $14,114 $16,378 16%
Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 22) $479 $633 32%
Black Friday (Nov.23) $816 $1,042 28%
Cyber Monday (Nov. 26) $1,251 $1,465 17%
SOURCE: comScore
6. Category Insights
Department stores continued to offer compelling deals and
promotions that drove sales to grow by 43.1 percent over Cyber
Monday 2011.
Health and Beauty sales increased 25.1 percent year over year
with consumers once again choosing to pamper themselves this
holiday.
Home goods maintained its momentum this year, reporting a
26.8 percent increase in sales from Cyber Monday 2011.
Apparel sales were also strong this holiday with Black Friday
numbers showing an increase of 25.3 percent over 2011.
SOURCE: IBM Holiday Benchmark
7. Most Visited Online Retailers Top Performing Categories
Retail Property Category Y/Y % Chg
1 Amazon Digital Content & Subscriptions* 28%
2 Walmart Toys 24%
3 Best Buy Consumer Packaged Goods 22%
4 Target Video Game Consoles & Accessories 18%
5 Apple Consumer Electronics 17%
SOURCE: comScore * Corresponding days based on corresponding shopping days (November 3 thru November 25, 2011)
* Digital content & subscriptions includes digital books, audio and video content.
9. Multi-Channel Holiday Shopping
Mobile Shopping: On Cyber Monday more than 18
percent of consumers used a mobile device to visit a retailer's site,
an increase of more than 70 percent over 2011. Mobile sales
reached close to 13 percent, an increase of more than 96 percent
over 2011.
The iPad Factor: The iPad continued to generate more traffic than
any other tablet or smartphone, driving more than 7 percent of
online shopping. This was followed by iPhone at 6.9 percent and
Android 4.5 percent. The iPad also continued to dominate tablet
traffic reaching a holiday high of 90.5 percent. Amazon Kindle
leapt into second at 2.6 percent followed by the Samsung Galaxy
at 2 percent and the Barnes and Noble Nook at 0.6 percent.
Multiscreen Shopping: Consumers shopped in store, online and on
mobile devices simultaneously to get the best bargains. Overall
58.1 percent of consumers used smartphones compared to 41.9
percent who used tablets to surf for bargains on Cyber Monday.
SOURCE: IBM Holiday Benchmark
10. Consumer Insights
The Savvy shopper: While consumers continued to spend more,
they once again shopped with greater frequency to take
advantage of retailer deals as well as free shipping. This led to a
drop in average order value by 6.6 percent to $185.12. However,
the average number of items per order increased 14.1 percent to
8.34 compared to Black Friday.
Peak Shopping Periods: Consumers flocked online, with shopping
momentum hitting its highest peak at 11:25am EST. As in 2011,
consumer shopping also maintained strong momentum after
commuting hours on both the east and west coast.
Social Sales: Shoppers referred from Social Networks such as
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube generated 0.41 percent
of all online sales on Cyber Monday, a decrease of more than 26
percent from 2011. However, Cyber Monday saw 20% more
social referrals than Black Friday.
SOURCE: IBM Holiday Benchmark