by Brian Solis
Instead of using this Monday to catch up on the work left behind to head out of town for Thanksgiving, millions of people will instead spend a good chunk of their day buying holiday gifts online.
That’s right. Today is Cyber Monday and while productivity will spiral downward, retail numbers will continue to go through the roof.
But is it really a unique shopping day or are we merely buying into the hype?
After a quick check on popular sites, I don’t see anything like the deals that have made Black Friday a post holiday institution that businesses can now annually bank on.
Cyber Monday will truly earn its name when big retailers realize that they can only increase numbers by hosting spectacular sales events for a few hours on Monday morning, similar to what they do for Black Friday. Instead, they try to “cash in” on the hype by running Cyber Monday 24-hour sales that are no more attractive than a regular holiday sale.
Retailers do this because they are afraid of stealing their own thunder from Black Friday. However, they could embrace a new sales opportunity by catering to those who actively avoid after Thanksgiving chaos – like me.
The retailers that get it will start to run midnight to 5 a.m. sales on Monday morning that rival Black Friday with dedicated specials that run throughout the day. Then, and only then, will Cyber Monday be more than the day that people cumulatively take time away from work to shop online.
Update: Black Friday Sees $531 Million in Online Retail Spending, Up 22 Percent versus Last Year – Comscore
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